Omaha daily bee., 1889-03-17
suzzlNes.

HIS utSh, ulSCONbTeu " Sliluil fhNh-
age rolled IN brown paper He was about to
throw 1t away when IL occurred to him IT
might be advisable TO open it and examine
the contents. He tore off the wrapper and
found piece of medium bristol on which was
pasted n letter, which read as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Nov.
Ii, 1S68.-In pursuance of the fourteenth sec
tion of the act of congress entitled "An act
TO aid in the construction of railroad and
telegraph line from the Missouri river to the
Pacific ocean, and TO secure TO the govern
ment the use of the same for postal, military
and other purposes" approved July l. 1862,
/, Abraham Lincoln, president of the United
States, do hereby fix so much of the western
boundary of the state of Iowa as lies between
the north and south boundaries ofth United
States township, within which the city of
Omaha is situated, as the point faom which
the line of railroad and telegraph in the sec
ton mentioned shall be constructed.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The document had been missing for over
ten years. 1t was still in an excellent state
of preservation. Close inspection was re.
quired to convince the observer that the relic
was not autographic. II was, however, but
a photograph. 1t displayed the egible chi
TOkTdpuy VI tuc bTcui cNtCutiNt, NuNh up
the time had not acquired the angularlty
which later distinguished 1t. Almost every
letter was perfectly formed. There were
but one or two erasures. These are not not
ed in the transcript above given, though in
other respects the letter is produced just as
it appears to the reader in punctuation. cap
italization and style. 1t was one of the most
important proclamations which President
r
a sheet of paper of four square inches. Its
Importance and the bearing 1t had upon the
great question of determining ct what point
the Union Pacific road was to
be inaugurated, prompted Mr.. Millard
to have it photographed. This little
relic was used in the great case before the
supreme court of the United States In the
effort to determine which was the initial
point of the Union Pacific. 1t that suit, the
decision, as IS well known, was rendered in
favor of Council Bluffs and against Omaha.
In this connection, it will be interesting to
note that later proclamation on the same
subject was issued by the president. This
reached Omaha on December 2, 1868, and
fixed the initial point of the road on the
"western boundary of the state of Iowa OPP
posite Omaha-opposite section 10, in town
Slip To- uOTtu VI TdtiSc 10, cdSI VI JHS SlktI
principal meridian in the territory of Ne
braska."
What led to change in the phraseology of
the original message, the chroniclers up to
date have failed tell. MIR. Millard's souvenir
has been framed and will hcncefvrth decor
ate a wall in his residence.
~
In the biographical sketches of President
Harrison's cabinet, recently published, men,
tion is omitted of an interesting stage in the
career of Noble, secretary of the interior.
After the battle of Prairie Grove, Mo-,
which was fought by Brigadier Generals
Blount and Heron, of the United States
volunteers, under the command of Major
General S. II. Curtis, United States volun-
teers, the latter was ordered to st. Louis,
Mo-, to relieve Brigadier General John M.
Schofeld, now in command of the army,
who was then only brigadier general of the
Missouri state militia, and who, upon being
relieved, took the field, replacing General
Curtis. General Curtis brought with him his
personal staff, which included CoonelN. p.
Chapman, chief of staff; Major H. H. Curtis
A. A. G.; Captain Stark, A. A. A. G., and
Lieutenant John w. Noble, who was as
signed to duty as assistant judge ad-
vocate. Lieutenant Noble, at that time,
was a seedy-lookng chap, in con-
trast with the spruce-looking staff
officers who had been so long on duty In
Washington at department headauarters,
and attracted but little attention. During his
service on the staff of General Curtis, who
was some months later relieved and virtually
retired, Noble made but few appearances in
public, devoting himself to drawing charges
| and specifications against the various civil
ians who, about that time, were being ''grid-
ironed'' before the military commissions
which were popularity supposed to be con-
vened to convict. And, indeed, as most of
| the indicted ones coming before them landed
| in the Alton, Ill.,, military prison,
| the old penitentiary, the belief
| gained ground that these commissions knew
why they were convened, and that Lieuten-
| ant Noble knew how to draw charges and
| specifications that would stick. Later, the
| lieutenant was relieved and joined his regi-
ment to fight his way to martial fame and,
again, ON reaching civil life, to demonstrate
| in the noted whisky trials at st. Louis, that
| he had not forgotten his army training as q
| prosecutor. 1t may, perhaps, be yet his des-
| tiny to appoint another to the position which
| he has now accepted at President Harrison's
| are alike, more in character and method,
| than in personal appearance, and their SINH
| larity in the latter respect will be noted
| when they come together ana their peculiar
| ties are discovered.
~
There is every indication that in the very
near future the phonograph will become an
| indispensable adjunct of every well-regu-
| lated newspaper Office. And what a grand
| thing it will be-in fact, a boon, filling a
"long- felt want.u Many uses will arise for
| the little instrument, and when once intro
duced full corps Of these sound receptacles
| will become a necessity. For instance, there
would be neeued many monographs of as
sorted sizes for Interviewing. Two column
| ones could be sent when some cultured gen
| tleman would consent to talk on a vital ques-
| ton of the day, and machines with capac-
| ity of only two lines when a crank desired
| to descant on useless hobby. What saw
| ing of valuable time for the overworked ed
| itor to be able to pick out phonograph hold
| ing just the length OF interview wanted,
| write note to the victim asking him to talk
| the machine full on the desired subject and
| then call a messenger boy and order the
| "nterviewer'' delivered at its destna-