The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-03-21
CITIZEN B. FRANKLIN HART.
HOW HE HAS BEEN WICKEDLY PER-
SECUTED AND lFxsREPRESENTED.

HOW HE HAS BEEN W1CKEDLY PER
SECUTED Ind 1TkSREPRESENTED.
The Electr ic Light of Verbatim Testf-
mony from the Ex-Colonsl,s Own
Lips Throws its EKuigent Rays ON
the Report of the Board or Inquiry.
Military, and indeed civic circles in Ho-
boken are still in state of agitation and
excitement over the regimental middle.
The order retiring the late Colonel B.
Franklin Hart and some of his officers and
the other disbanding the regimental or
ganization have Ear from settled the diff
Guilty and quoted the talk. Mr.. B. Frank
lin Hart, late Colonel of the late Ninth, is
not only mad, but fighting mad. AL the
fiery wrath that he exercised against the
rebels during the civil war embracing his
month or tive of service under the Union
flag, and for which he received three hon.
orable discharges from a grateful country,
has been awakened after It's Rip Van VIM
kle slumber of score of years. The
sleeping lion within him has been aroused
and has let out terrific and bloodhound
ling roar. The ex-Colonel has sfired off
his mouth" SO to speak, presumably hav-
ing nothing else to fire off, now that he is
out of the service, and the sound of his
Indignation and anger has reached far and
wide. He has gwen notice that he is
aroused, and when he is in that condition
he is dangerous. If he is not held
he will annihilate the commander
in-chief and the entire National
Guard of this peaceful Commonwealth.
In the first place he declares that the
whole disgraceful action of the Commander
in-Chief is the result of conspiracy on the
part of Major Erlenkoetter. The major got
in some dark corner and ccnspired with
himself to hound his colonel out of the
regiment. When he had duly and felon-
iously conspired he made tools of the other
s'kickers," pulled the string and set his
infvnal ousting machine going. A corrupt
Board of Inquiry, according to B. Frank
lin Hart, then sat upon him and sent in
report entirely at variance with the testi-
mony, and then, with a knowledge of the
statutes and legal acumen remarkable in
a butter and cheese man, he has decided
finally and in conclusion that his retire
ment is illegal. He has kindly abstained,
however, from instructing the Supreme
Court to rebuke Commander-in-Ch Chief Abs
bett and reinstate B. Franklin Hart in his
rank and restore to him his military glory,
the certificate to which he holds in his
three honorable discharges
We will give some of the distinguished
ex-Colonel's own testimony before that
Board of Inquiry and illumine the dark
ness of the secret Inquisition that broke
the handle off B. Franklin Harris name
There are 2, 900 folios of the stenograph-
ers' transcript of the testimony. He is
sworn officer, and the Witnesses all testified
under oath. He testified that First Lieu
tenant was drunk while on duty in Camp
Leon Albeit, and that Captain, " Officer
of the Day." on their first day in camp,
was drunk when he reported for instrue-
ton. 81 turned away from him in dis
gust, said the Colonel.
@. "You left him still in command as
Officer of the Day?"
A. ssYes, sir, / did. was sorry that
he was in the shape that he was in.
didn't want to hurt his feelings any,"
81 don't remember" and 81 can't recol-
1ect" were stock answers to many inquiries.
In regard to the Colonel's charge against
Erlenkoetter for conspiring to GUST him
(the COLONEL, finally he admitted that the
conspiracy existed only in his imagination.
Now comes a delightfully."- lucid bit of
testimony about the ineficiency of rations
for the Ninth on the day of General Grants
funeral.
@. 'sNow, what orders, if any, did you
give to him in relation to the rations for
Grants funeral day ?"
A. Ct gave him about the-I didn't
give him any orders, because I couldn't
L. - i. r - =
only a day or two before the tIme-we
didn't know what the orders were-nobody
did, until the parade"
@, You have heard him state that he re-
ceived no orders, and that upon these 90
casions the provisions from which the
rations were made were procured by yos,
or portion of them, at your place of bust
ness; is that so?"
A. "Yes, sir; the ham, butter and cheese,
I think; / am in that business .
The Colonel's bill to the State for the
expenses of August s, amounted to 5000.
Concerning this, the Colonel desired to
make a statement, the most Ineligible
part Of which was as follows: SIN regard
to making cut that bill, think did make
q mistake probably in sending bill for so
much, but in paying these bills for these
companies / looked at the matter and
talked. / don't know whether talked to
the Adjutant about it or not; talked with
some one about it, and they thought thu
right thing to do would be, that, as the men
were the ones that suffered, not having
enough to eat that d5y, IL at they should
be, it would be nothing more than right
they should have the benefit of it. merely
want to say to you, gentlemen. that / bad
no intention of doing anything but what
was Just right, and thought as the State
allowed so much and the men didn't get
ifat that time, that it was right for them
TO have it afterwards"
He was asked to explain an item of $40
for the use of truck was found.
@. "What, if any other wagon than the
one furnished to the Adjutant did you
s,aye on that day?" ~
ssWell, think that day we had a
truck"
and who by ?"
A. ssThe truck was hired by me-
@. ssFrom whom"
a 81 think the mans name was--I
couldn't remember the driver; there may
be q mistake about that: don't know
anything about the bill; haven't looked
into that"
q. "WeIl, from whom did you procure
the truck for which you nave pfesenteu d
bill for $40 ?"
A. ~ had my own truck; my own horse
and truck, / think, and driver"
@. ssDid you make out your bill for horse
and rations from estimates and not from
actual knowledge of what the real amounts
were2"
a. Eyes, sir"
O. ssAs a matter of fact you didn't feed
the men the amount of food charged IN the
bill on that day august 81, did you =
A. ssNo, sir.
Inquiry was made as to the reasons OF
the experienced colonel of the Ninth for
Issuing commission as Meutenant to
man who had been previously expelled
from the regiment for mutiny. He had
lost all memory of the circumstance, put
when pressed said that he didn't know that
tha man had been expelled, and was not
even aoored when shown his own order
Announcing the fact Of the expulsion.
o. at has been testified here IN relation