The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-16
MRS. LOGAN IS WRATHY
sHE GIVES VERSION or THE
CORONATION UNIFORM EPISODE,
And Accuses the McCocks of being
Jealous OF Her Son. VINO looked
Handsome in Soldier Clothes.

worn at the coronation of the Car is now
at white heat. Mrs. john A. Logan. whose
son is mixed up in the affair, has given out
a statement of the case. General Nc
Cooks first act when he arrived at st.
Petersburg" she says, was to claim pre-
cedence over United States Minister Brock
inridge as the special personal envoy of
President Cleveland. Minister Breckin-
ridge she continued, resented this Nc
Cook snub. The affair was referred TO Sec
rotary Olney, and h sat down on General
McCook and told him his place. McCook
then claimed precedence over Admiral Self
ridge and succeeded somehow in maintain
ing it. His brother, JOIN j. McCook, who
was at Moscow with his daughter, he &p-
pointed on his personal staff.
II was John j. McCook who appeared in
a uniform to which he had no right, not my
son. John J. McCook attended the cere-
monies in "a fun uniform of a colonel of
the cavalry of the United States army.
1 saw the eagles on his shoulder, the mark
of that rank. On the occasion of the cor
onation my party was given excellent seats;
the McCook party was off rather to one
side. L fear that the members of it did
not like this, but they should have reflected
that 1 did not choose either their seats or
mine. After 1 was seated my son came
QOMus he NdS IL SplCiIulQ iI6uIS, us manu-
soonest man about and by odds the most
soldierly. John ]. McCook, who had not
had probably a uniform on since just be-
fore charlottesville, could not be called
a proud or striking personality. And l fear
that possibly this irritated the McCooks.
Creighton Webb, too, was there, busy
with everybody's affairs but his own. 1t is
quite likely that Creighton Webb said
something to soften the McCooks. After
my son came over to where l was seated
and had gone away again Mrs. Potter
Palmer came over. Mrs. Logan she said,
lit is outrageous the way the McCooks are
talking about your son. They say he has
no business with a uniform, and that they
will have him arrested if he does not take
It off, | told Mrs. Palmer not to take
alarm. No Logan ever needed a McCook
to tell him when to put on a uniform or
to take it off. Then 1 paid attention TO the
ceremonies and thought no more of 1t at
Sunday night the Prince Radlin, the
German ambassador, gave a dinner to the
Duke vladimir. | was invited, with my
son. General and Mrs. McCook were in
Vited because of his official status: John
J.. McCook was not invited, and Minister
and Mrs. Breckenridge did not come, as
they never accept invitations for Sunday.
General and Mrs. McCook and my son and
/ were the only Americans there. Ny seat
was fourth from the prince, a much better
place than the McCooks. L am inclined to
think they noticed it. The Duchess Vladi-
mir also distinguished me by her kindness.
A FAUX PAS.
son the occasion of this dinner of Prince
Radlin to Duke Vladimir my son wore the
ordinary evening dress as was proper in his
case. His status was that of a civilian.
But General McCook also wore evening
dress, when he should have worn his uni
form. The dinner was in honor of a SOL
der. Duke vladimir, and General McCook,
a. soldier, should have shown him that re-
spect due to his profession and worn a uni
form. You make a mistake. general said
l to General McCook, at the time. You
make a mistake. Duke Vladimir might
we'll regard it as a great discourtesy for
you to appear otherwise than in your uni
form
"'Oh, I don't know replied General Nc
Cook. L don't like a uniform
THE day following the coronation my son
got a peremptory note from General Nc
Cook asking him to see him at once. The
note was an insult. General McCook had no
more to do with my son than ne has with
you this moment. When shown the note
I said: Go and see what he wants, Jack.
He's no business to write it, but go and
THE two McCooks. and, I take it, Creigh-
ton Webb, undertook to deliver lectures to
my son on the impropriety OF his appearing
in any uniform They even went so lar
as to question how l got my tickets to the
coronation excuses and the palace dinner;
i~nsinuated that my invitations to Prince
Radlin's dinner were secured in some sur
reptitiouS way. My son stopped them all
very short, and l fear said many harsh,
vigorous things to all of them-things thew
tingle with yet. When l learned of the
McCook insinuations touching my corona
tion tickets and my appearance at Prince
Radlin's dinner, l called on General Nc
Cook and his brother, and before L got
through talking they We're heartily
what was true, that the kindness and at
tention shown were natural enough.
"The twenty-siX years of natural service
of General Logan, sixteen of them in the
Senate and the rest on the battlefields of
this country and the floor of the House of
Representatives, rendered me, his widow,
quite as distinguished an American as any
then in Moscow, and that the Russians
We're aware of this, even if the McCooks
We're not. Then l came away"
1t is believed that the real cause of this
was the failure of Mr.. Logan to get the
Austrian mission. He was very anxious to
get this appointment. and Mrs. Potter
Palmer came to Washington and urged the
President 10 appoint him. Mr.. Logan did
not get the united Endorsement of the Illi-
nois delegation in Congress, because they
thought he was not sufficiently experienced
and distinguished to be entitled TO a foreign
mission at the hands of President Nc
MIR. LoGAN's LETTER.
The letter written by Mr.. Logan to Cen
eral McCook, part of which has already
been printed, begins by asserting that a
malicious, scurrilous and utterly false ar
ticle has appeared in the papers about him.
II have devoted my time" he adds, ''since
to tracing the author, and find upon a
thorough investigation, from undoubted au-
thority, that the information upon which il
was based was supplied by yourself and
your brother, John j. McCook. Why either
of you should resort to such a contemplate
and cowardly method of personal abuse of
me is beyond my comprehension, but that
you have persistently circulated these con-
temptible lies appears to be a fact, and /
have it direct from reliable people to whom
you have repeated them among others,
from several army officers of high rank.
You are well aware that at the time of
the coronation at Moscow an order was
issued making it imperative that every per-
son attending should wear a court dress.
prescribed in an official order, and the only
exceptions to this were that those entitled
TO wear uniforms could do so. You know
full well the court costume consisted of
knee breeches, silk stockings. buckled
shoes, white wafstCOat, dress coat with gilt
buttons and a cooked hat. Not caring To
masquerade in such a costume, which is
suitable only for Il court fiunkcy, and being
an officer in the National Guard of the
State of Ohio. with several years honorable
service to my credit. and never considering
it a thing to be ashamed of, | asked per-
mission OF Clifton r. Breckenridge, our
minister at the court of Russia, to wear my
nrnffQpr4 also nEla1 Va nc rrn,, NrA.,