The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1889-11-21
A MEAGER REWARD.
The Fay Received by Hav and Ntcolay Fol-
Their Life of Abraham Lincoln.

The Fay htesetve0 by hav and NtrOlay For
Their Life of Abraham Lincoln.
-.t;ath" In Cincinnati Enquirer.
"What is to he the. ultimate form of the
publication of the life of Abraham Lin
coin which yo,I Colonel John HayI and
Colonel Nicolay are publishing serially ~
ut is to he published by the Century
company i'm I'D Volumes. and l have just
been reading some of the proofs. Ii has
now been nearly % years since You first
announced i'm one III your newspaper let
ters that we were to write this book. l
told you at the white house just after Mr..
Lincoln's death that we were resolved
to undertake il. At the time We corn-
mcnccd this publication "a great deal
was said and printed about the large sum
1t is true that the S5O.UOO we were paid he
tween us was probably the largest sum
that "a serial publication has paid for amy
series of contributions, bat i made a COM
Putation a few days Y upon what had
been paid for our time i'm preparing this
each and no more. The rest has gone for
expenses. have been compelled to buy
of books and manuscripts, of
which individual volumes have cost me
$25 apiece. Look here" Col. Hay showed
me from a dozen To - volumes of manu-
scripts bound carefully.
.fhese," said he, .'are the original ar
chivcs and letters of Jefferson Davis. his
cabinet. and the confederate government.
/ bought them from Col. Pickett, the same
officer WHO sold to Ia United States for
$15,LOO IL similar set.
III lie cOlOIel Opened one al the volumes
and showed me an endorsement i'm lead
pencil by jefferson Davis to Judah u.
Benjamin, his secretary of state. The
whole pencilin0 was in Mr.. Davis hand
writing. He orders Benjamin to write u
state letter to Mr.. Mercier and Lord
Lyons, calling them to take action upon
MIR. Seward's revealment of his policy
toward the French under Maximilion i'm
Mexico. The letter was written i'm Davis
generally passionate or oratorical style,
with abundant adjcctives.
"Nhy, i thought that these letters were
in the state department."
"They are; you see these official papers
were very often issued in duplicate or in tri-
plicatc, because n good many of them had
to he sent 10y Observation-Disclosures between
the soIth and Europe, and il one set was
To IKE lost another set would TIE preserved.
In that way the papers hich / bought
are frequently originals, while those i'm
the state department are copies, and in
other cases the state department papers
are original and mine are copies. 1 have
thought that after we finish the r,iblica-
ton of Mr.. Lincoln's life l would isstle Il
limited edition of these dispatches IN a
particular book"
"Then you have not been getting for al
your original contributions and compost
lions upon this work of % years more than
"a laborer's wages up at the new librIr,
building by the capitq2 building"
"Just that. Our partial papers in the
Century IA ime will come tn am enc
next February and will have occupied
three years in their publication. Every
thing has been cut out of the magazine
chapters which did not directly bear por
Lincoln here in the east. All reference Il
S~herman'sc campaign and important mat
tells i'm the west have been omitted, which
property come within the compass oi
Iincoln's life. In the book publication
this excepted matter will he contained"