Los Angeles herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1890-1893, 1890-09-27
ONE OF THE SWINGERS.
MAJOR BEN. c. TRUMAN IN CHI
CAGO.
He INDUCES in Some Reminisences-The
First Side Show Of the Columbian Ex-
hibition.

Domiciled at the Leland hotel are
Major Ben G. Truman and family, OF
Los Angeles, CAL, says the Chi
cago Times. Twenty-four years ago
next month, Major Truman was in this
city as one of the staff officers of Andy
Johnson, when the latter was making
what has been termed ever since his
famous "swing around the circle. 2"
Andy came to Chicago to assist in the
ceremony of laying the corner stone of
the Douglas monument, which took
place on Thursday in October. 1866.
Truman was one of his private secretar-
les, and had been with him ever since
the old Tenesseean had been made mill
tary governor of his state, and brigadier
general OF volunteers in March, 1862.
Truman did journalistic war work all
through the rebellion for the New York
Times and Philadelphia Press, and re-
ported the daily progress of the "swing
around the circle" for the Chicago
Times.
In an interview with the gentleman
last night he stated that only a half
dozen of the original ''swingers" were
left. "Farragut, Grant, Seward, Raw
Inns, Wells, Rousseau, Custer, Senator
Patterson, Thomas, Surgeon General
Barnes, Colonel Morrow, McCullom,
Meiggs, Postmaster General Randall and
twenty others whose names | cannot
quickly recall" he said, "have been laid
in their silent tombs. Stoneman is in
Los Angeles very sick man. Congress
ought to pension him or give him back
his retired pay, which he unwisely
surrendered to be made governor ofCali-
fornia. Stoneman never was great any
where, but he always did the best
he could, is dead on the square and pos
sesses lots of the milk of human kind
ness. Colonel Moore is chief of police
of Washington. There are only few of
us knocking around terrestrially. jeff
G. Davis, also dead, commanded here in
Chicago and escorted the party in spec
tacular style to the Sherman house.
Romero and had the fifth carriage,
johnson and members of reception com
mittee the first, Seward and 9th ers
the second, Grant and Rawlins
the third, Farragut and wife
the fourth, and so on. The crowd
was immense, and Senior Romero lost
his hat and loaned the elegant Mexican
minister mine, and improvised a turban
out of silk handkerchief. l was I'M
doubtedly taken by many for his valet
George Francis Train got in with the
party some way at Detroit, and made
things hum in his own cratic but unap-
proachable style.
81 am here now" continued Major
Truman, ''to open the first side show OF
the great Columbian exhibition. In
other words, President Marvel, OF the
Santa Fe, some months ago proposed to
the four or five southern counties OF Cal
fornia to give them splendid hall in the
Rialto building free if said counties
would make pretentious exhibit OF
their products and paw for the manage
ment of the same. This proposition was
responded to, $4,000 was Immediately
raised and placed in bank, and l was
unanimously made manager. The ex-
hibit, which will be exceedingly fine
will be opened on corner of the ground
floor of the Rialto building on Oct. l. II
will be miniature OF what we viii
have in '93. The legislature will be
asked for 81 900, 900 and will give at leas
100000 Chicago will be a gamer from
California to the tune of nearly $4,000,
600 if it does not divide its grounds.