The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-06

| country. which will vet recognize your
services, but can never sufficiently reward
Morton, thus provided with funds. went
| to New York. But he did not intend to use
| this money for the payment OF interest
he could help it.
A LOYAL HoosIER.
j. F. d. Lanier, prominent banker of
| New York, had spent his early life in IN
diana, and was warmly devoted to the
| State He was man Of wealth and pa
triotism, and the banking house of Win
| slow. Lanier & Co.. of which he was a lead
! ing member, had conducted the financial
affairs of Indiana in New York. lie had
already, on former occasions, loaned TO
| Morton about $4,000 with which to arm
and equip the Indiana troops, and these
loans had been repaid. To this man Morton
applied for money with which 70 pay tne
! interest He was successful. Mr. Lanler
| agreed to provide him with the needIul sum,
and Winslow, Lanier q CO. notlned Johh =,
| Walker, agent of state (the financial repre-
sentative of Indiana in New York city,,
that they would pay the interest, ana ASKED
him TO furnish from his books a INST OF the
bona fide holders of the state stocks.
This list was made necessary by certain
spurious certificates which had been issued
| by one Slower a former agent Of the State,
many of which were still outstanding. Inc
books of the agency would snow Whlch
certificates were genuine and which were
fraudulent But Walker was a bltter en-
envy of Morton, who had caused his dis
missal from the army for characterization.
and he could not forego this opportunity
for revenge. He declined to furnish list
of the States creditors, and refused access
to the books of his office.
WinslOw, Lanier q Co. now proposed 10
Walker that he should pay the interest him
self in the usual way by checks upon their
banking house, which they agreed to honor;
at the same time generating him from all
personal liability. This offer was likewise
Walker having thus for the time defeated
| az default in the pay
| ment of interest was made on July /. The
| value of the state stocks taS they were
| called was of course, affected, but steps
had been taken to inform the creditors and
the public of the fact that money had been
provided to pay the interest, and OF the
| There was great indigna ton at Walkers
action, and the credit of Indiana was not Sc
The Democratic newspapers in order to
| justify Walkers refusals declared that ne
| could not pay the money without making
| himself and his bondsmen liable They had
! act been Informed OF an offer OF WlnsloW'
| Ianier & Co to exonerate him from l1aDll-
| ity. After they had all swallowed the palt,
| md were strung on the same strles' salu
! the Journal, this last statement was pub
lished which left them suspended like
| spoiled catfish on hot day.
MONEY ON HAND
Morton, having now found that the money
advanced to him by Stanton for the pay
ment OF interest was not necessary fer that
! purpose, wrote to the secretary on July q,
|
1868, as follows:
Dear Sir-You furnished me the sum Of
| $50 600, of which sum 100000 was to enable
| me TO pay tho interest on the state debt,
| and the balance to carry on the state GOV
| eminent. The agent of the State IN New
| York, a weak, bad man, who was he tool
| of the regulators here at home, refused to
avail himself Of the money placed to tie
credit of the State by the house Of WinsloW
Lanier 4 Co., and suffered the interest TO
| go unpaid. He also refused access TO his
| books, so that / was unable to pay 1t by
| agents outside of his office.
The credit of the State and of my 40
| p1inistratiOn has been saved by providing
| the money in New York with which to pay
the interest, and the, disgrace must rest
| upon a weak copperhead officer and his
| wicked advisers.
| THE money which you so generously pro-
yided for this purpose is subject TO your OF
| der, and is on deposit in a bank in New
| York. L beg leave, however, TO suggest that
in the recent Morgan raid / incurred mill
| tary expenses which L have no means OF
/ paying, and that l am organizing the state
! troops and putting them on war footing
| for immediate service If required. This is
| important TO the government on account OF
| the draft and in every point of view, but
| have not a dollar of money with which TO
| $3.50 coo for that purpose. This, ! suppose,
| would be within the letter and the spirit o.
the appropriation.
| be applied to this purpose so -Mortol re-
| tanned it until the Legislature met in 1863.
The interest on the state deOt remained
for some time unpaid, and Morton began 70
look elsewhere for a list of the bona fde
stockholders of the State. Infocrarti01 upon
this point was contained in the records of
the auditor of state, and the Governor APP
piled to Ristine for access to those records
Public opinion was very strong against the
population of the interest. 1t was now GER
tain that the Governor did not intend 20
call a special session of the Legislature.
whether the interest was paid ar nol, ana
there was nothing to gain by further re-
fusal. Ristine accordingly permitted the
| Governors secretary to take from the au-
ditOr'c hooks comics of the of the
state stocks. From these and POSSIBLY other
sources a satisfactory list of the holders q
the state securities was at last obtained,
and in November Winslow, Lauler Y c.
gave public notice that they would lay
the interest which had fallen due in July
and afterward that they would pay the
interest falling due on the first day OF
January, 1864. These payments continued IN
til the Legislature of 1865 made provision for
the reimbursement of the sums that had
been advanced. The entire amount so paid
was six hundred and forty thousand dollars.
INVESTIGATION ASKED.
In December 1854 short time before the
Legislature met Morton wrote to Stanton
that there would be in his hands an unex-
pended balance of the sums advanced
amounting to more than one hundred thou
sand dollars This, he said could be re-
turned to the government and settlement
made on vouchers for the money spent.
! Stanton had suggested that the whole sum
had better be charged to the State, and
treated as an advance upon her account
with the government This" said Morton,
| in his message to the Legislature of 1860
''would undoubtedly be more equitable with
the distinct understanding, however, that
the money did not come into my hands in
that character, as in that case the law
would have required me to pay 1t into the
treasury at once.
The State did not, however, assume the
debt, but at Mortons suggestion JOINT
committee composed of members of both
! parties examined his accounts and unani-
| nously reported them correct, and on April
H. 1866 he paid the balance remaining IN
his hands into the United States treasury
An incident connected with the refusal or
the state officers to pay the interest on the
| state debt is graphically described by Nor
ton in a speech made by him on Feb. -,
1864 at the Union state convention at IN
dianapolis. He said
"There is another transaction connected
with the refusal TO pay the interest on the
| public debt which must, If possible, in
crease the adherence entertained for II in
the public mind. In August Messrs. Ristne
and Brett the auditor and treasurer, adj
| yanced to Walker from the state treasury
| the sum of $4,000, to be invested by him in
| our war loan bonds or in the state stocks
az which I have been speaking. Messrs. Ris-
| fine and Brett have also taken from the
treasury the OF $5OU0 with which they
have purchased Indiana per cent. stocks,
making in all the sum or $lO0OJg taken from
the treasury for that purpose. we are here
| presented with the remarkable spectacle OF
! state officers deciding that there Is
| no law by which they can pay
| the interest on the state stocks
but finding law to take money from the