Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-05-07
GEN. BUTLER TALKS BACK.
He Says He Laid for Admiral Porter
and Caught Him.

He Says He Laid for Admiral Porter
and Caught Him.
THE GENERALS BOSTON SPEECH PREPARED BE-
FoREHAND-HK STICKS TO IT THAT PORTER DID
Run AWAY -scARED BY FLOATING DOCK
VERY BREEZY INTERVIEW.
Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was not in war.
like mood this morning. He was Just as pleas
and was engaged in masticating large chunk
Of rubber-hke substance which is called chew
ing-gum.
Says was drunk does he?" growled the gen.
eral as he shook hands with q STAR reporter
this morning. ''Well, suppose he does; his
statement to that effect will be satisfactory tes-
timony to the contrary to those who know him"
The general was talking about Admiral Por-
ter. He was in his law office, and as he shuffled
his slippered feet across the floor and then
smiled at his visitor the imagination had to be
subjected to severe strain before the reporter
could bring himself to believe that the owner
of the smile had deliberately engaged in COM
bat with Admiral Porter. But it was SO. And
the combat is not over yet. The general has
only commenced to load himself up and does
not expect to be readyto IRE for some time to
come.
THE GENERALS BOSTON SPEECH PREPARED BE-
FoREHAND.
"How far advanced in intoxication were you
when you delivered the anti-Porter speech2'
asked the reporter of the general.
Hadn't started" was the reply. "That
speech was written four or five days before the
day on which 1t was delivered, and copies Of II
were sent to the various morning newspapers
in Boston. Those papers did not report my
speech; they set it up from the slips furnished
them. The statements made by ME were
neither new nor unsupported, as Porter will
find out before he gets through with this mat
ter. Now want to show You the true condi-
ton OF affairs which prevailed below New Or
leans just previous to and at the time Of its
capture"
The general then traced out on a coast
survey map the various naval and military
movements and showed an accurate acquaint-
ance of detail which was almost surprising
He was thoroughly familiar with locations and
dates, and seems to have that scrap Of United
States history at the tip of his tongue. When
he had concluded an exhaustive summary he
pushed the map aside and said:
PORTER SCARED BY GREAT FLOATING DOCK.
1.-THE difference between Porter and myself
is easily seen, and the public ought not to get
its mental powers shaken up by overthought.
/ say that Porter ran away down the river be-
cause he was scared by that great floating dock,
the Lousiana-a hulk that had no machinery,
and was unable to move Of her own Volt
ton. l say that he warned my
troops to get away as fast as pos
them, and he set US an example (Which we did
not follow by taking the lead. This charge
does not rest on the unsupported testimony Of
any one man. Parton, who is credited with
being careful historian, says on page PAT of
his book: General Butler in New Orleans;'
Capt. Porter's fleet Of steamers were coming
rapidly down the river, propelled by a report
that the celebrated ram Manassas was after
them Why
PORTER HIMSELF HAS NEVER DENIED
that. He admits it. Attempting to smooth it
over somewhat he says he was towing his NOR
tar vessels down for supply Of shells. There
was no necessity for it. Four or five steamers
were below ready at any time to bring him all
the shells we had. Besides, what did he want
with shells? The passage Of the forts had been
accomplished, and after that morning he never
fred a shell.
Another excuse he gives for that hasty trip
down the river is that he was on his way round
to the rear Of the forts. Now, what on EARTH
or on water, was he going to do there? The
nearest point to which he could bring his NOR
tar-feet was eight miles from the forts, and the
intervening distance was one dense forest.
Did he propose to shell the works that he
couldn't see by the aid of mortars that had not
enough range to do much more than a third of
the distance? Tut, tut! What foolish liar
he is!
WHO rs HIGGINS?
~ see he has called to his aid man named
Higgins and this worthy, in 1872, writes
letter. every word OF which is false. Who is
this Higgins? Gen. Duncan was in COM
mand, and he testifes that the damage
done to the forts was insignificant. God
10 H.. t,,rl,
in one of his last reports. After arrived
in New Orleans l sent Lieutenant Weitzel.
the engineer officer on my staff to examine the
forts and to let me know how much it would
cost to repair them. He reported, and the re-
port is on file, that both Jackson and St. Philip
were as defensible as they ever were, the latter
fort barely being scratched. Yes. Weitzel was
a lieutenant then, although he had, years be-
fore the war, built those very forts. In those
days promotion was slow in the engineer corps.
No man ever got to be a captain until he was
sixty. They didn't drink themselves to death
before that age, and they never got hurt any
other way"
GEN. BUFFERS WAY OF GIVING PORTER CREDIT.
II want to give Porter credit for having done
a great deal; he generally obeyed orders, but
he did run away. He is, 1 understand, engaged
in preparing full explanation Of this matter.
hope he is. When Le does, then it will be
time enough for me to make a reply. If he
doesn't put his foot in it I'm very much mis-
taken. He can't tell the truth anyhow. He
has attacked me like a blackguard, but
l do not propose to make any such
fight. This matter is going to be settled
once for all, and I'm going TO settle it.
laid for him and I've caught him, and"--and
here the general looked as little like Sir Boyle
Roche as possible-"he is as surely murdered
as he lives. Either he or l will be held up to
the execration OF the people of these United
States, and assure you do not fear the con-
sequences"
There was no anger visible in the generals
appearance at any time, and when the reporter
left him he was chewing steadily on the same
piece of gum with which he was exercising his
and sub-maxillary muscles fully an
hour before, and it was still in good condition.
The general is not wasteful of his gum.
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.
The New York Stock Market.
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