The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-08-22
"REMINISCENCES OF LINCOLN

| From the Washington Times
Representative Bundy, OF Ohio. en-.
1 joys among other things two distino-
! 'tions-he is the father-in-law of Judge
| Foraker, the noted republican from the
Buckeye state, and was a presidential
| elector for Abraham Lincoln. The
| following "reminiscences about old
| Abe" said Mr.. Bundy the other day.
! ''have never been in print. | heard
| them while visiting my town in 1862,
/ on which occasion l had come on TO
| Washington to secure the release of a
union recruiting officer who had been
/ unJustly charged with having made
false vouchers of enlistments. and had
been sent to Baltimore and placed in
Jail at Fort McHenry. Before me in
the line of those waiting to see the
president was the wife of a colonel of
an Illinois regiment who had been
captured and was imprisoned in the
south. She wanted to secure a special
order of exchange for her husband.
II can't do it, madam said Mr..
Lincoln, in his most polite manner
There have been altogether too many
special exchanges already. Besides.
Jeff Davis won't do anything l want
him to. He has fifty thousand privates
in his kingdom whom 1 should prefer
to exchange Their than your husband
But my husband is a brave man
and a loyal one. l cannot understand
what you mean was the lady's reply.
Madam replied Lincoln, as he
pulled his old quill pen from behind
his ear, with this pen L can make .
colonel in five seconds. but I cannot
give him a regiment Then he added
has charge of exchanges. ii he will
grant your request Twill not interfere
1.-The next person IN line" continued
Mr.. Bundy, twas a man with some al
legged letters of loyalty from an ex-gov-
ernor of Maryland. As he handed them
to Mr.. Lincoln another man caught
what had been said and interrupted the
conversation to tell Lincoln that the
papers must have been fsrged as the
Maryland ex-governor had been dead
for several years. The man who had
brought in the letter collapsed, and
Lincoln with that peculiar pity which
he could show even to those who least
deserved it replied quickly: %, never
mind, sir, never mind, sir; I would
rather get a letter from dead man
than from live man any day
THE third to have a conversation
with the president was Wall street
broker and adventurer, who wanted to
be made assistant secretary of the
treasury, so as to relieve the
government, as he declared, by
floating an issue of bonds. His plan
was to borrow for the government a
certain amount of money on a pledge
of 500. 900. 900 of United States bonds,
which were to be issued as collateral
for the payment of the loan. The plan
of the schemer was very evidently to
break the price of the bonds and then
get possession of them at price less
than the market, for his margin was
very narrow.
''Mr. Lincoln listened patiently until
the man was through, and then as he
eyed him closely he said solemnly:
MY friend, that is a mighty good plan
to get bonds for less than they are
worth and very well thought out; but,
as he shook his head, don't ask me to
help you in it,"
At last it was Mr.. Bundy's turn. He
told Mr.. Lincoln, by way of introduce
tiOn, that he had been Lincoln elect
or. and that what he wanted to ask Of
him was simply an act OF justice to the
falsely imprisoned recruiting officer.
Mr.. Lincoln heard the story, and then
said: MY friend. when are you going
TO start for home?" 1t was Saturday
night, and Mr. Bundy told the presi-
dent that. as he did not travel Sunday,
he should not start until early Monday
morning
Mr.. Lincoln paused a moment and
then said: well. sir. unless you start
for Ohio at once your friend viii beat
you home"