The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-08-12
MEMORY v1NDIcATrED.
a Case. Of Biaeimail inIWhicha o Subordinate
Y Ffrnrad-Tha Truth Of the Matter.

Il
Pn1lApslRa1A, Pa, August 1.-THE
Indiana (Pa.) Nt,es, in It's latest issue,
prints q story in which It Is asserted that
Alexander N. White, Of this city, wasim
prisoned during the rebellion by order oi
Secretary Stanton, in pursuance Of q
scheme to extort money from White, In
which plot Stanton was principal. The
story, also claims that White. 10 secure his
release, was compelled TO pay SO, 500, aud
that when alter the war, the blackmailine
scheme was about to be exposed, Stanton
cut his throat in order to avoid the igno.
miny that would attach toit. The I le is
told with considerable detail, aud q giving
offeures and dates that lend to II an air
Of credibility. ~ Z.
Mr. White, himself, This evening, on
being shown theI article, said: "The
story Is true, go far as IL goes, except the
implica ion Of Mr.. Stanton, who was my
friend in the end, and endeayored as far
as laid in his power, to see justice done
me. In December, 1852, i was COM
tractor with the Government for forage TO
some extent, and in very large trans
actions through other contractors.
| II WAS at the time supplying nearly all
Ethe forage contractors for the army with
oats, having managed to obtain control oi
nearly all the oats in the country. The
oat crop Of 1852 was q failure, and the
eastern oats 80 light that they were but
little better than chat, weighing but six
teen! TO eighteen pounds to the bushei. At
my suggestion the Government, through
Colonel ingalls,, Deputy Qlaftermaster
General, had agreed to accept twenty
pounds OF corn and twelve pounds OF oats
10 the bushel, and contracts in that pro.
portion were duly executed, and millions
OF pounds Of forage had been delivered
when no arrest took place. At the same
time Charles Copeland, OF Baltimore, and
John Hill and other forage contractors,
whose names i cannot at the moment re-
member, and "A, O. Hall, OF Baltimore,
who chartered vessels for the Government,
were arrested. Adam 81. Wogthmau, OF
this city, a forage contractor, subsequently,
President Of the Fourth aud Eighth Street
Railway, was 10 have been arrested but /
believe made terms and avoided it,
MIR. W hite says they were all arrested
under q warrant issued by Assistant Sec
retaryo Of War Peter W. Watson, by order
of,Lafayette @. Baket, Chief Of the Secret
Service, and locked up in the old Capitol
prison that Baker accused them OF cheat
ing the Government, and demanded Of
him White $4,000 for his release; that
subsequently he tWhite) paid Baker SSS2,-
900 and was released alter nine days Inn
psisenment. White adds that: Duting
Johnson's Presidency, when he and stan-
ton were fighting, Ismet by appointment,
Stanton and Baker at the Continental
Hotel. There Baker confessed. In the
presence Of Stanton and myself, that my
arrest and that ofthe other contractors in
1859, was the result ofsa Sblackmail con-
spiracy between himself Baker, and AS
:sistant Secretary Of War Watson, and that
there never had been any charge against
:ust upon which an arrest could be ORDER
ed. Stanton vigorously denounced the
transaction as an outrage, and promised
me that my money should go back to
me-
Themoney, W bite says, was subsequent
ly, by order oil General Schofeld, paid 10
him through the Metropolitan National
Bank of Washington. How the War De-
pattment ever squared the transaction