St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-04-23
GEN. SWAIM'S CASE.
Secretary Lincoln Reviews General
Swain's Answer to the
Bateman Charges
And Finds it Not Denial Nor Satisfactory
Explanation.
a Court of Inquiry Detailed to Meet at
Washington May 8.

WAsHIyGToS, April 22.-secretary Lin
coin to-day addressed the following letter to
the PRESIDENT:
LINCoLN'S LETTER.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, April -.
SIR:-On the 10Th inst, A. E. Bateman Oh
this city, member of the firm OF Bateman
Sc Co., bankers, addressed me letter Of
which copy is enclosed, in which he alleged
that General G. D. Swain, Judge Advocate
General of the army, had committed
fraud upon said firm. On
the next day, and before any action was
taken on the communication, Batemau sent
another communication, Withdrawing the
charges against Gen. Swain. On the next
day these letters were by me referred to Gen.
Swain, by the endorsement, upon the one
first received, ''for such remarks as ne may
desire to submit upon the allegation made in
the written communication, and for any APP
plication he may desire to make" On the
same date Gen. Swain returned the papers
with the following endorsements: (The en-
dorsement has been published.)
Batcman thought it proper to give the press
a copy of his first letter on the dav Of IFS
date, and the &ave charges made by him
against the Judge advocate general were thus
given wide publicity His object was, ap-
parently, to enforce pccuniary adjustment
by means as offensive as possible. and his
letter of next day shows Notwithstanding
the bitterness of his attack, that satisfactory
settlement was quickly made, one element
of which was his formal withdrawal of his
charges, with a statement which seems care
fully framed to avoid charging himself with
having recklessly made false and libelous
charges in his previous letter.
Bateman's business adventures are not en-
titled, under any circumstances, to the pro-
lection of the war department., but the iuteg-
rity and uprightness of an officer of the
army, who reports upon every court martial
proceeding which it is the duty of the secre-
tary of war to submit to the president for his
final action, is Il matter of the deepest con-
Germ to the president and to every one of his
military subordinates. The law requires that
conduct unbecoming an officer and gentle
man" shall be followed by sentence OF dis
missal from the service, and the president
alone can mitigate the sentence II there
could be any distinction, every consideration
requires that, more than any other officer of
the army, the judge advocate general should
be free beyond question from an imputatiou
of such conduct.
1t is a matter of deep regret to me, there
fore, that when the judge advocate general
was given the opportunity to comment upon
the charges in question, he, in respect to the
fist charge, either was not able or did not
see fit to make an explicit denial Of the es-
sential part OF to give in detail such facts and
circumstances as show the falsity of the
charge. Instead Of doing so, he has con-
ted himself with the statement, which
contains nothing, to which the Bateman al
legations might not be a truthful supplement.
So in respect to the second charge of assist
ing to negotiate army pay vouchers with
Bateman " Co., which General Swain knew
to be fraudulent and duplicates of outstand-
ing accounts, General Swaim's response fails
to notice that the charge made by Bateman
refers not merely to his negotiation of the
army pay accounts, but TO the negotiation OF
pay accounts alleged to have been known to
General Swain as fraudulent, and to that
element OF the charge no allusion is made in
his response.
1t is not overlooked that the final clause of
the response, asking for its publication, re-
fers to the accusations as false, but his speci-
tic answer to them is evidently intended ID
be found in what has gone before.
If there is no proof to sustain the charges
made, or if the circumstances can be ex-
planned so as to remove every impression Of
improper conduct on the part of the officer
in question, | am of opinion that the welfare
of the military service requires that
Oh 81
his vindication. 1t is not personal, but an
official and public matter. He has not, in
my view, recognized this necessity, and as
he has not done so, l am compelled to recon-
mend to you the appointment of a court Of
inquiry to examine into the accusations
above mentioned and to report the facts de.
velOped by their investigation and give their
opinion thereon. ! have the honor TO be,
ETC., signed Robert T. Lincoln, secretary OF
war.
To the President.
COURT OF INQUIRY ORDERED.
Upon the receipt of the foregoing letter.
the president authorized the issuance of the
following order:
War Department, April 22.-By direction
ton of the president of the United States a
court Of inquiry is hereby appointed to ex-
anime the accusation against Brigadier Gem
efal David G.. Swaim judge advocate general,
U. S. A., contained in a letter addressed by
A. E. Bateman to the secretary of war, bear
ing date April 16. The court will make
full and thorough investigation of all matters
embraced in the letter Of Bateman, and will
report the facts developed by its
investigation and give its opinion thereon.
The detail for the court are Maj Gen. John
Pope, U. S. A., Brig. Gen. Christopher c..
Augur, U. S. A, Brig. Gen. Delos b. Sacket,
inspector general U. S. A, and Maj. Robert
n. Scott, Third artillery, viii act as Judge
advocate and recorder. The court will meet
at Washington, D. c., on the 5th of May.
Signed. ROBERT +. LINCOLN