Omaha daily bee., 1895-06-09

president received another letter from Gen
eral Garfield, in which he said:
THE negro scheme of which we talked
has been pressed upon again, and the
letter asserts that five out of our nine de-
partment commanders have approved 1t. An
other letter, received yesterday, says one
more department has gone into it, and that
the scheme is being rapidly and thoroughly
perfected, and the blow will certainly be
struck"
This last letter convinced me that no time
was to be lost, and after comforting again
with Messrs Greeley and Gay, l decided to
go on to Washington, to show Mr.. Lincoln
the necessity for prompt action. and to gain
from him such other facts as would be pru-
dent to make public.
TALK WITH LINCOLN.
The president read the two letters Of Gar
field in his quiet, thoughtful way, and then
across the other. he said, emphatically, That
Garfield is trump-there is no discount
upon that"
Not being in a mood to listen to eulogy
upon Garfield or any one else, | hastily as
sented, and was about to ask him what he
had done about the negro project, when he
went on: do you know-that job of his
on the Big Sandy was the neatest thing that
has been done in the war. It's something to
| have been born in log shanty.'
and to have split rails l rejoned.
laughing.
yes" he answered. land I'll bet Garfield
has done that"
II don't know about his having done 1t,
but his mother has-she's told me so her
self"
"Is that sop he said smiling. THAT
| accounts for Garfeld-he had good
| mother"
Then subsiding into a serious mood
| he added, Now, about the negro business
| AS Garfield says, 1t is bad every way, and
| we can't afford it. i think ! have put my
| foot upon It,"
"And are you disposed to give me any
| inside facts for publication in the Tribune :?
| | might suppress the names of the six COM
manders, IL you thought 1t advisable"
| 1--WE been thinking on that subject. l
| guess we had better say nothing whatever
| just yet. You see. l have scotched the
| snake, not exactly killed it, When 1t is
dead will be time enough to preach its
| funeral Sermon"
| And you will let me know when you arc
| ready for the sermOn?'
He promised to do so, and soon the in
| terYiew ended.
do not assert that this projected in
surrection was not what Mr.. Lincoln at
first surmiscd It might be. a hoax, |
! simply affirm that Generals Rosecrans and
GarReld-and soon Mr. Lincoln also-be-
| lieved 1t to be real danger, which threat
ened the south with all the horrors Of st.
| Domingo. But, whether the danger was
real or not, the action of the president and
this projected insurrecton has the same
character of the genuine human kindness
toward the south.
All know that the insurrection did not
| take place, and | have always doubted II
the conspiracy was so widespread and uni
| versal as 1t was supposed to be by the sub
| ordinate leader who wrote the letter ia
| Rosecrans.
The uprising was fixed for the 1st OF
| August, and serious outbreaks occurred
among the blacks in Georgia and Alabama
| in September. May not those have been
the work OF subordinate leaders who, mad
dened at the miscarriage of the main de-
sign, were determined to carry out their
part of the program at all hazardsF
Mr.. Lincoln was disnclned TO talk about
the part he took in the affair. The last he
said to me upon the subject was a short
time before his death. when he said Some
time, when / have a little leiZure l will
tell you the whole of that story" The
assassius bullet cut short the story
JAMES r, GILMORE.