Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-30
A MAN OF PITTSBURG.
Ex-Glerk Lloyd Tells Of the Public
Services Of General MOorhead.
A HIGH TRIBUTE FROM SHERMAN.
Made the Monongahela NaVigabls and
Saved the Arsenal Stores.
HOW HE MADE A HOT-HEAD APOLOGIZE
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.I

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATcH.I
A big man in body, brain and heart was
James K. Moorhead, General Moorhead as
was more familiarly known, having legiti-
mately acquired the title as Adjutant Gem
eral Of Pennsylvania by appointment from
Governor David D. Porter. He represented
the Pittsburg district for ten successive
years, beginning in 1860, with zeal and
efficiency that were unsurpassed John
Sherman once said of him that he was the
very best local Representative he ever knew.
He was of humble parentage and achieved
his way to prominence, as have so many
others in our country, by dint of natural
ability.
He was identified in early life with the
public improvements of Pennsylvania
Commencing as q boss under some contractor
on the Pennsylvania Canal he soon COM
menced taking contracts, in which he was
eminently successful, and SO laid the foun-
dation of his fortune But his greatest
achievement in this direction was the con-
struction of that magnificent improvement,
the Monongahela navigation, which will re-
main a monument to his genius and enter
prise so long as its waters shall continue to
roll onward to the sea- He was
THE wHEEL-HoRsE OF PITTsBUKG
for many years; known as man who would
''do to tie to-" and whenever he put his
shoulder to the wheel of any enterprise it
was sure to move. He was utterly destitute
\ of the egotism which so frequently charac-
| terizes self-made men, and was always self
possessed without the least trace of vanity.
He was one of the most genial Of men, and
| yet with quiet dignity Of manner that re-
/ PEELED undue intrusion. He earned tbs
| gratitude of the nation by his firm resist
anee to the attempt of Secretary of War
| Floyd to remove the arms and ammunition
| from the Pittsburg arsenal to the South al
the outbreak of the Rebellion.
| If his qualities had been as well known
| to the nation at large as they were to ais
| constituents he mi ght have attained to the
highest honors in their gift. He ought to
have been in General Grants first Cabinet,
| to which he was recommended by, believe,
| the unanimous voice of the Pennsylvania
/ delegation in Congress. The recommends
tion was intrusted to ID. j. Morrell, then in
i the House, to present to Grant. MorTeu
| lived opposite Grant at the time on l street,
/ and was in intimate social and personal re-
lations with him. Instead of presenting ths
| letter of recommendation at once he sounded
Grant on the subject by saying to him that
| if he was willing to consider the matter OF
| selecting q member of the Cabinet from
Pennsylvania its Congressional delegation
was prepared to recommend man for the
position
WAS NOT PRESENTED PROPERLY.
Grant replied that he had already selected
a Pennsylvania for q seat in his Cabinet,
| and MorreQ did not pursue the matter fur
| ther. Moorhead's friends were not satisfied
with this presentation of the matter, and
| believed that if MorreH had presented the
paper, and accompanied IL with an urgent
| personal Recommendation, the result might
have been different. General Grant certainly
missed an opportunity to secure Cabinet
officer who could not have failed to reflect
additional honor on his administration.
Moorhead was pre-eminently fitted for
executive duty. It was more in his line
than legislative work, though he had the
natural ability to fill with credit any posi-
tion to which he might be called. He was
at one time candidate for a seat in the
United States Senate, but the methods theu
in vogue to secure such position were re-
pugnant to a man of his fine sense of honor.
He was not politician in the ordinary ac-
ceptation of the term. He never sought
for Office. If he had, he might have easily
been elected Governor of his native State.
He was always willing to serve the public
III any Dut Dcll6Veu Iully III INC
principle that the Office should seek the
man instead of the man seeking the office.
HARD AND EASY WORKER.
He had an infinite capacity for work, and
accomplished more with less apparens
effort than any man ! have ever known.
He seemed to possess an intuitive knOwl-
edge of the situation on all occasions, and
reached q right conclusion quickly and iH-F
fallibly. His distinguishing trait of ehar4
aeter was manliness. He never preyari-
Gated, equivocated or shufled on any ques-
tion, and nobody was ever in doubt as TO
where Moorhead stood. He possessed tho
rare faculty of saying mo when truth re-
quired it, and could say it without giving
personal offense. He was q man, too, who
never fustered nor clustered; was never in
hurry; never, apparently at least, over
burdened with work; never too busy to at
tend the claims OF charity or even of society,
but moved forward in whatever he UNDER
took to do with the quiet power of deep
flowing river-no noise, no "fuss and
feathers" no nonsense of any kind what
ever. With a certain sternness of manner
he was possessed with all the rollicking
freshness of boy, and had keen appre-
citation of anything humorous, and could in
dulge in it himself when opportunity
offered. He liked Lincoln immensely, with
whom he was on intimate terms, and greatly
en1OYeQ bis 10keS, anu was iona OF repeating
them And he accomplished whatever hs
undertook with the least possible waste OF
power, leaving the impression that there
was in him great reserve of force that had
never been called into operation simply be-
cause of the want Of any occasion grand
enough for its exercise.
KNEW HOW TO UTILIZE TIME
During the early stages Of the war, when
q Congressman duties could hardly have
been inventoried he found time for every
thing; whether to urge the interests of his
constituents before Cabinet or Congress; or
look after a wounded soldier in field or
hospital; or attend the funeral of slain
officer; or intercede for some poor fellow
condemned by the military law to be shotI
or to aid some grieEstricken wife or mother
to reach the bedside of dying husband or
son. No matter what the duty, General
Moorhead never shirked it, or sought excuse
for its non-performance.
During his Congressional career he stood
high in the confidence of his associate mem-
bers and in the Executive Departments.
His previous relations to Stanton, who had
been his private counsel for many years,
gave him special influence with the War
Department, so that it came to be generally
understood that if anything was wanted in
that department it was important TO secure
Moorhead's services; and the result was
that he was besleged, not only by his own
constituents and citizens Of his own State,
but by people of all the States. And the
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