Connecticut western news., 1885-07-15
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
How Lincoln Might Have
 Escaped Assassination.
Postponing an Engagement that He Had
 Made for the Fatal Friday

Made for the Fatal Friday.
 A Long Branch letter to the Phila- delphia Times says:
 "Had President Lincoln kept an en- gagement he made with me he might perhaps be living still," said MT. Ran- dall, of New York, formerly of St. Louis, the other evening. MT. Ran- dall is the father of Mrs Garrison and the conversation took place on the piazza of her residence here. When urged to tell the story of how this could be, he mentioned that during the latter part of the winter of 1865 he, knowing the state of affairs in the part of Missouri within the confeder- ate lines and in the adjacent States, where Kirby Smith, with 10000 men, was only held in check and kept from making raids by 60,000 men of the Union army, and, being aware that Kirby Smith and his men, having had no pay or clothing issued to them for six months, were greatly dissatisfied, and were maddened by the knowledge of the necessities of their wives, children, mothers and sisters, who were actually bare-footed as well as otherwise scantily clothed, thought that he would try by peaceable means to rid that part of the country of Smith and his men and prevent their making any more raids. This he sought to do by getting permission for Union men to buy their cotton, which he knew was packed ready for sale, and permitting the destitute Southerners to buy the necessities of life in return.
 He opened negotiations with Presi- dent Lincoln at Washington through ''Dick Yates, who at one time was Governor of Illinois, and represented to him the wise policy of adopting the plan he proposed, for he said there were no other Confederates in arms in that part of the country, and he felt convinced the plan he urged would ef- fectually dispose of Smith and his men, and that money to buy the nee essaries of life procured by the sale of cotton and the opportunity given to purchase such supplies would, he thought, convert some of them into good union men, while it would in duce all to cease raiding. And if you do not buy their cotton" Mir. Randall plead, "they will burn it as soon as they see Federal troops approaching to seize it. It is ready alike for sale or for the torch" He went to see Presi. dent Lincoln finally himself, and suc- ceeded in convincing him of the wis dom of the proposed plan and secured the necessary permit to stock boat with supplies and to send it and pur. chasers of cotton to proper points on the Mississippi, whence negotia tions might be opened for the pur l chase of the cotton so much needed 1T Northern factories and for the sale of food and clothing to the starving, rag ged Confederates.
 All seemed likely to go we'll, tn, boat was duly fitted up and stocked al great expense and started on her trip but unfortunately delays were made by the naval officers commanding ouI squadron on the Mississippi and b! army officers guarding posts on land and the vessel was not allowed to pro ceed. Finally, after many attempt to set matters right, Mir. Randall de termined to go to Washington again see Mir. Lincoln, Stanton and Welle and send the boat which had already cost large sum to it's destination President Lincoln first made an ap pointment to see Mir. Randall at tn White House on F riday evening, Apri IA, 1865, and the latter was about t take train from New York, whithe he had gone, to Washington to kee the engagement when he received telegram saying that the Presiden preferred to postpone the conversation until Saturday evening, because h wished to have time, when it too place, to talk at length with MT. Ran dall and on Friday he wished to g, see Laura Keene in "Our Americal Cousin"
 So MT. Randall started from NeN York Friday night to keep the en gagement for Saturday evening, an on reaching Baltimore next mornin was amazed to find his train unde arrest, the order having been issue to allow no trains to leave that cit in any direction, and was appalled, t learn that the cause of this was tn assassination of President Lincoln il Washington the previous night.
 
 The Evolution of the Arm-Chair.
 The transition from the arm chai to the easy chair was not made all 8