New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-14
NEW-YORK'S WAR QUOTA
HOW LINCOLN AND STANTON RECEIVED THE
APPEAL FOR RELIEF.
Alpba Chlld in the Boston Transcript.

Alpha Child in the Boston Transcript
few days ago / square OF bloting p@p0i Imo
little larger than such as are now generally III w., IN
side covered with writing and few lines writsn Un
the other side 1t had been but little used as tid
The writer had begun with common leild peno ab
IL aside when II became blunt, and finished Wltn
fine blue pencil knew without reaolng ~ Oiao 90.
had that blotter somewhere long uin d mid
seen 1t with its black and blue pencil nnes' anu
black and blue circumstances. recolLeS'oe
r was at Washington, twentysx years ago last winter,
that saw that blottlngpad ana studlea utg ~
fbat same wrtfng and Abraham Lincoln was the
writer of It, remembered that ~ uliocheu a,e s3r
the State OF New York ana the way Of Il was thus:
The war for the Union was then WITHIN a ,a [Sw
months of its end but the people and the
e epne hfi The term Of service Of many thousands Of
diSiers from each state was soon expire most Of
3bosa were fhreevears men, but many were one-year
men. IL determined by the DOYernmen' "
nm nm the armies again and make thing OF the
rrov of the Southern Confectionery. and rapidly
as possible. This was why caIl was Inhu1 az ,enn
late day for three or four hundred tnVsu sr, in
who us lt turned out. we're not heeded Ior se.tloo
and were not mustered I'm. The Governor OF New
York was notified by the War Department .na' t rew
this as from other states however, many thousands
OF soldiers had gone, either as volunteers IN e 1s
two years OF the war, or later by compusloh uhutI
CONSUMPTION, that in many parts OF tnc sdo ost call
men available soldiers were hIb nc h'1t -
before this one had been filed with difficulty IN ms
and most other States with difficulty because tie
determination to get the men WITHOUT silUMi tt
TO be necessary for the War Department 70 u~ ~
as conscrlps and 10 carry this out, huheIeus ~
towns and wards in New YorH raised tn nsl
quotas Of soldiers By OHerbS hrb0 W."
Oones 70 20 tbe O in the legislative and
departments at Albany then, whsn hoTor Fem
the War Department was served upon CIon Nr York
ton that the number Of men demanGed rom ebe
was $4,000 and not 1000 as nae o Deoh Was Known
that certain districts Of the state were 30 nea a
drained of that their quota OF even 41UoJ e nt
rOuld not be found within their borders Inc LetSs
Iature at once appointed committee OF two Sehs'os
and three Assemblymen TO go to washington anu Pc
how il was that such bunder nad been NIUE LIN
If II really was bIunder learn how sums IN aLu
metlc were done at the War Department put, pof
ALL TO obtain for the state some abatement run S
was considered an excessive and uureasohdOie ue,u
The Assembymen of the committee 90 p mo-
remember by name; the Senators were JOnn A. Den;
~ tbis county jefferson and George II. Andrews Oh
OtSego County l went with them to the War re
parmen and soon we were IN ns aonpd DIR from his
table remained seated and with an lnlmoN aoo iJ Gj
Of both mind and body, fixed cold stare UPON Ge in
the committee that one of the AssemDyme "o fSe
from New York CITY, should present Inc .nat tbS was
a mstake for either of the senators had much oe,er
faculty Of explanation and mole tact; this H"e rbere
was decidedly speechmaker, and he went at IL. t"io
was Something in the differences Of the terms on en-
stment among the WHO had gone y the %r l ths
daicnItv NJ filling the present demand for more men
and when the spokesman got that aspect OF me eae
rer H pefcentages hat il seemed doubtful IL he
could come out Of 1t standing on MS rect 81. or+ %
The great War Secretary broke IN uonI VAN h Ia
near a6y more of this / know all about the trouDle
in New York and. besides. there Is no sense ~ 20 his
Won sayinC.D He whrled himself aTOuho " n1
table loaded with folded documents heapee Ia sT"dS
rows and he added, without looking up Il can si''
you relief; would not l COULD ,6ro state imuer
The offended dignity OF the Empire eUHe, iinT
sonated in those i've men, was silently dlsapPearnS
through the doorway when Mr.. stanton steptto1
quickly after them, and laying ms manu- on Sei
Hes shonlder who was last Of the five In crossing
the threshold he said In lower ana diIerehs tv
= What do YOU gentlemen want - Mr. Ben pleassn'y
answered that thew had undertaken TO tell him. but Us
he had not seemed disposed TO give then TAR ne
ing they might have TO go to the President wa wa
taking down the exact words Of secretary stanton anu
rather frtively on the back Of two OF three business
cards that happened to be in my pocket l always
themselves with notebook and pencil-whether neces-
sary nSand the sane er Sa we'll are You can 90 to the
President; but we must have all the o2,ooo men
called for from NewYOrk' Another OF the commit hs
teemeu here said But suppose the men cannoG oo
fonDd ~ Don't you tell me they can't De IO1hI'
The Secretary quickly and emphateally answered na
committee passed on: Ingy ay the President Was
to start for Fortress Monroe, there, or on NIaVy
vessel In Hampton Roads, to meet Nlse.rIesuen'
stephens Of the southern Confederaey, with Messrs
Rentamn Hunter and Campbell also OF the hlehnonu
government while with President Lincoln were 10 pe
Secretary seward and one or two other omclas Vi inc
Alter several hours hunted up the committee, ana
found them at General FryS once ne was dhe VINO
had listened patiently to their argument ana sugses,
tons and then had called for General Fry, whom no
asked how il was that he had figured out quota Vi
az 600 and another Of 81 900 for the same state huer
the same call for troops. General Fry sMu tnaL h9
a
mathematician and that 81, 900 the correct quota
The committee had then accompanied General Fry 70
his Office at President LncOn's suggestion 10 see whaS
discoveries could De mace a. 10 ny hSsG jSnt aSain
putting quotas, and were TO come 10 inc as
that evening. When l entered they had Just " gone
through the chief Mathematician, Whom tiey wv nVe
allow to do this the blackboard ana demonstrate
it, accuracy his serene way, but asked so MANY
questions and threw in 50 many figures OF TIER own
as to confuse tine sh0cbdngy. Another reporter
who had seen il all told me =" Why your t%G 9ea ser
positively that forty seven Is a. per cent OF huhoIen
But before they saw the President again ne naa p cen
Seassured by the provost tat 1871 G
was correct figure OF New 1orks quota, ana inc
President could not well go behind the returns" .
The three Assemblymen of the committee lost
courage and LETT for Albany that evening" hopeless Oh
anything being accomplished But the TWO senators i
remained and went up TO the White House again cary
in the evening. Again ! stayed at the h0iei Put
when they came back senator Andrews described what
had taken place. They had ventured an explanation
to the President of the complicated considerations OF
varying terms of enlistment OF the states so1ieI
forces then In the army ana now seriously ~ a T
certain counties In York, in relation TO linng
this call for men. This was not an easy thIls
to do" said Mr.. Andrews, as You saw thls morning.,
when Mr. Van Buren, attempted IT, (By my old notes
of what Mr.. Andrews said see now that his name
was Van BUREN, But before Mr.. Bell was hall through
with II, Mr.. Lincoln nodded his head mp and down. as
much say i through IT, and without rising NE
drew blotter of his table laid it on the fiat arm of
ment OF it In few words" " Here II Is" said MI
Bell. Reading it, understood what the matter was,
for the first time Reading it again lately, on that
Identical botter, twenty-five years afterward,
made this exact copy Of it:
The draft matter complained of by Governor Fen
ton is this That I'm giving credits for past calls
one threeyears man is counted equal 10 three one
years men, while on the pending call each is
nted one, and only whether he enlists for
two three years. The practical difficulty may be
illustrated by the following supposed case: The
OF \ and b, before any enlisted, have each 100
men on the late call 4 gave sixty six one-year men,
leaving only thirtyfOur at home while gave thirty
three threeyears' men, leaving slNty-seven at home
on the pending call each 100 men, subject to its
credit but while gets credit for SiXty-siX It owes
thirty four taking the last man in it, while gets
credit for nnetynlne, owes one aud has sxy,sx left
quietly at home This ugly conjecture occurs in some
sort accidentally, some towns putting In years
men and others three years men, attaching no
quence to this difference, but which burdens the
one class beyond their immediate power to bear
While the above Is only a supposed case, l am told
there real that are stronger where there
are not enough in the town to answer Its quota
IL gives present relief that the One-year
to come home sooner than the three years men, as
the present cali does not wait until they come
The President TO have 10 written out more fully
with some other matter and his recommendations
and they to call upon him early the next morning
and take the document To Secretary Stanton.
II was before in the morning that Senators Bel!
and Andrews were inside the White House, and 1 with