The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-06-26
Minor Matters.
XLlXth CONGRESS- FIRST SESSION.
SENAT &.

WASHINGTON, June 25.
The Fitz John Porter bill was taken up
and General Logan addressed the Senate on
the subject.
Mr. Logan opened with an objection to the
bill on constitutional points, He had no
prejudice against the man, but friends of
Porter had placed the case before the coun-
try in q one-Sided way and on that letters
had been got from distinguished men ex-
pressing views of the case favorable to Por-
ter.
Mr.. Manderson interposed to suggest a
case of the President increasing the number
of judges, saying New Jersey, in order to
reappoint judge who had been impeached
and dismissed for cause.
Mr. Logan said that would be a case pre-
cisely ON ''all fours'' with this. He did not
expect his words to have any weight in the
Senate for he always noticed when the Sen
ate was determined to do thing it turned
deaf ear to everything else, whether law or
fact. This case was not the trial OF Porter.
Porter had been tried and condemned. This
was the trial of Abraham Lincoln, OF James
A. Garfield, and of many brave and distin-
guished officers of the army. 1t had been
said that Porter had been a good soldier be-
fore the war. That was no argument. JET
ferson Davis and Robert E. Lee had been
good soldiers and loyal men before the war.
The fact was that Fitz John Porter and 9TH
ers,whose names it was not now necessary to
mention, conspired to make it impossible for
a western officer to command armies OF the
east. The eastern army was never a success SIS
until Grant took hold of it and at that time
Porter and some of his kind were not then In
it. 1t was part of the programme Of Por-
ter and friends that no western man should
command that army. Mr.. Logan asserted
that Porter was the cause of the first Bull
Run defeat by persuading. Patterson to re-
treat from Winchester with 10000 men. In
support of this he had the clerk read some
extracts from his published work, "The
Great Conspiracy" He denied that he was
endeavoring to persecute Porter, when he
was only defending Lincoln. "As God is
dust of Lincoln and swear by all the gods
to his act as being an honest and just act.
You gentlemen that were down in the Con-
federacy," continued Logan, don't know
anything about this case except what you
have read, and you come up here and vote
for this man." Every man restored to the
army by Congress after dismissal because of
sympathy with the rebellion, had found Re-
publicans in Congress to aid them. Prophe-
The legislation of war was being reversed
every day, and by Republican votes. Mr.
Logan entered into an elaborate analysis of
the military situation in August, 1862, to
show that Fitz John Porter had not done his
duty, and had been treacherous to his COM
would have been condemned to death and
would have been shot had not kindly Lin
coin said, "For Gods sake, don't require me
to shoot Democrat at this time" although
Lincoln had said that the evidence war
ranted the death of Porter: AS to the al
legged force of $4,000 at the front. Mr. Logan
denied that there was, or could have been,
such a large force.
Mr.. SeweI asked him whether he could
DENY that in order to carry out Pope's order
to attack Jackson's right, Porter would have
to beat 25,0 900 men.
Mr.. Logan did deny it, asserting that all OF
Longstreets command, except one division,
were engaged fighting Pope's men. He
would have had to whip only 6,00O men.
Mr.. Sewell asked Mr.. Logan whether he
wished to 90 to the country with the remark
| that the statement Of the board, composed
of Generals Schofeld, Terry and Getty, was
a deliberate falsehood.
Mr.. Logan wished to go to the country
with the remark that the statement by that
board was not true. He did not mean that
| the gentlemen named would Intentionally
falsify, but he meant to say the record dld q
1 not sustain them. Mr.. Logan asserted IL
| was Porter's duty to attack the enemy when ls,
| the battle was going on and he found the