Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-03-20
Mrs. Surratt and Stanton.
TWO STRANGE STORIES TOLD BY WILLIAM P.
WOOD, Ex-cHIEF OF DETECTIVES.


Col VIM. P Wood, who was chief of
Federal detectives during the late war,
writes as follows to the ''Washington Ga
zette":
Some time after the execution of Mrs.
Surratt, President johnson sent for me and
requested me to give my version of Mrs.
Surratt's connection with the assassination
of President Lincoln. [ did SO, and | be-
lieve he was thoroughly convinced of the
innocence of Mrs. Surratt. He assured me
he sincerely regretted that he had not given
Mrs. Surratt the benefit of executive Glenn
ency and strongly expressed his detestation
of what he termed the 'sinfamous conduct
of Stanton" in keeping these facts from
him. [ asserted my Interchangeable friendship
for Mr.. Stanton under all circumstances,
and while 1 regretted the course adopted by
the Secretary of War towards Mrs. Surratt,
I would never hesitate to perform any act
of kindness for him. President johnson
commended me for my devotion to friends.
and the subject of the assassination was
never afterwards discussed between him
and myself. The great War Secretary of
the Union was no longer in power. He was
plain citizen of our Republic, broken in
health and tottering between life and death.
The Republican leaders had, after much
pleading, induced President Grant to name
Mr.. Stanton for Judge of the Supreme
Court. The Senate promptly confirmed the
nomination, but Grant; for some reason best
known to himself, did not put his signature
to the commission, or if he did sign the
commission he did not forward it to Mr..
Stanton. 1t was at this time the latter sent
for me, and I called at his residence on K
street When ushered into his presence [
was startled at his -begone and wretch
ed appearance. He inquired if l knew the
reason why that man (meaning President
Grant, withheld his commission. I told
him Then we drifted in our talk to the
execution herein referred to, and he re
buked me for not making greater effort to
save the woman that was hanged. He said
he would have trusted his life in my keep
ing; that would have saved the torments
of hell had been more persistent in my
efforts l reminded me of my call on Presi-
dent johnson to plead for mercy for Mrs.
Surratt, and that l was met by L. c. Baker
at the entrance of the Presidents house,
and Baker produced an order over his
(Stanton's) signature which set forth that I
should not be permitted to enter the build
ing or communicate with the President.
TOO true" he responded, 'and the Sur
raft woman haunts me so that my nights
are sleepless and my days miserable, and
Grant aids my enemies by refusing to sign
my commission, which would afford me
temporary relief and perhaps prolong my
life. He will not do it, and, Wood this is
at last the end" Placing his hands to his
head he contlnued: II cannot endure the
pressure; I am dying, dying surely, dying
now !"
A few parting words We're exchanged be-
tween us, and the following day the death
of Edwin M. Stanton was publicly an
nounced. He never received his commits
sion of Judge of the Supreme Court, though
he had been confirmed by the Senate of
the United States.
How TO PUT AN EGG IN BoTrLE-A
writer in the ''Rural New Yorker tells the
young folks how they may perform the
magic feat of putting an egg into bottle.
Like many other things, it is easy enough
when you know how. This is the way it is
done: Soak fresh egg for several days in
strong vinegar. The acid of the vinegar
will eat the lime off the shell SO that while
the egg looks the same it will be soft and
capable of compression. Select bottle
with the neck third smaller than the egg.
With little care you will have no trouble
in pressing the latter into the bottle. Fill
the bottle half full with lime water and in
few days you will have hard shelled egg
in bottle with q neck third smaller than
the egg. Of course you pour off the lime
water as soon as the she'll hardens. How the
egg got into the bottle will be conundrum
that few can answer.
M1soELLANY.-You can no more filter
your mind into purity than you can com
press it into ealmness; you must keep it
pure if YOU would have it pure and throw