The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-09


call that a few years ago the writer
collaborating with Consul w. Butter
field, the historian (whose beautiful and
accomplished sister set the world agog
by marrying. in Paris, the talented
Catholic divine, Fr. Pere Hyacinthe)
gathered correspondence and other ma
terials, for future use, concerning about
% leading characters of the nation. All
of that matter, some of it Of the high
est interest and value, IS preserved
here.
In this collection are about 100 letters
from Mr.. Dana; and as he never wrote
or spoke without saying something in
teresting or instructive, l have been
going over the treasures for the pur-
pose of selecting one or two of his
communication for publication.
A single eXample-perhaps the last OF
the series now under mentlon-must
suffice for the present. Il was drawn
out when q letter by General w S.
lRosecrans was sent to him with re-
quest to explain, if he could, certain
of its features-especially the evident
bitterness of ''Old Rosey'' and the al
legged hostility of Caleb Cushing to Sec
rotary Edwin NJ. Stanton. The Rose
Grams letter. written when its author
was register Of the treasury. is given
first, as follows. the name of its recipl-
-ent being by request omitted:
Washington, March 16, 1887.
NY Dear Sir-I thank you for calling
my attention to Dom Piatts article IN
the North American Review, mention
ing why Stanton was my enemy. 1 will
look at it for histOry's sake. l had no
personal controversies with him. In all
/ wrote or said to him, or regarding
him. l have had an eye single to the
public service and the truth of history
and never was animated, for moment,
by the spirit of personal interest or an
tagonism. The last words ne ever spoke
to me were in 1862 when, saying good
by TO him on my way to Corinth, he
said: ''Good-by, general II Jhls de-
partment can be of service to you, rest
assured it will do it. That's so.
! never found any assurance so thor
oughly as this belied by this secretary
In my testimony before the commit
tee on the conduct of the war, see their
report page 3, pages l to lis, some
testimony is given showing his treach
cry towards Mcclellan. The Rebellion
Record. when published, will show cor
respondence like an electric light IL
Eliminating his character The May
number of the Century, 1887, will show
a short article from me, in which i'm
portant evidence is given of his offlclal
character, and of the injury and peril
to the country which resulted there
from in 1868.
After the close of the war I met Gen
eral Caleb Gushing, a very eminent
lawyer and public man, upward of 10
years of age, and asked his impress
Sions of the character of members of
the cabinet. OF Mr.. Stanton, he replied:
He is one of the worst men we ever
had in public life"
An eminent lawyer and friend, who
came in while I was reading your letter,
after looking over it, said: I have
looked into this matter. 1 was an ar
dent Republican and great friend of
Mr.. Lincoln. have looked into the
evidence bearing on Stantons charac-
ter with impartiality, and while the
time has not yet come to publish the
results of my examinations, and l may
never publish them, l have no heSita-
ton in giving this summary Of my con-
clusions sand l had it taken down, as
follows, viz:
"Weli. enough of the evidence has
been looked over to form a judgment,
and it is this, that whatsoever fend it
was come hot from hell to cozen with
this man should bear the palm for
excellence. That he built an eminence
for infamy and crawled under it. That
his friends have dragged him forth,
and that the only service they have
done for, can do for, him, is to drive
hope that he may disappear from view
on its Internal summit. Macaulay said
that a man could no more know what
a lie was until Barere came than he
could know what a thunder storm was
before visiting the tropics. or cata-
ract without seeing Niagara.
''Since then there have been discover
ed loftier waterfalls, and if another
food were TO come, Stanton's lies would
match the grander smile. Barere's lies
were told after he had acted. Stanton
kept magazine of them TO mix with
his daily work.
'Barere was trying to conform to a
new generation. Stanton was deceiv-
ing his own.
IF any doubt whether this judgment
will stand, let him revolt. Let him
go over for himself the amazing re-
cord now being produced, defaced even
as the criminal would obiiterate his
tracks. Let hin strip the golden noun
tain it circumscrlbes of every dollar
it has or is to cost; leave naked the
human horrors piled up by this mans
turpitude; contemplate the terror, and,
if he dare. say it is not just"
This letter, While giving you indiciae
on the matter may be used for record
and put among the transactions of
your (the Wisconsin state) historical
society. Yours truly,
- D
Mr.. Dana replied TO the request made
of him in relation TO the above on the
day of its receipt. as follows:
New York, March u, 1891
Mr.. Dear Sir-I never understood the
relations between Caleb Gushing and
MIR. Stanton. MIR. Stanton always had
q poor opinion of Mr.. Cushing, but
Gushing used frequently 10 come to
the war department, and never hest
Iated to ask a favor there Cushing
was always a mystery and gave the
impression in the latter part of his life
that there was some strange secret
about HIM. His learning was immense
and his conversation interesting. He
died rich, yet ne left upon the mind the
impression of a broken-down, dirty
kind of man.
AS for Rosey, he was the greatest
failure Of the war. He has been a fail
ure ever since. AS a member of con
gress he never had an ounce of in
huence, and wherever he is ne is laugh
able. All his talk against Mr. Stanton
is nonsense.
l reached his (Rosecrans') headquar-
ters early in September, 1863, and, as
soon as had delivered my credentials !
10 him, he began a TRADE OF abuse |
against Mr.. Stanton. l listened TO it /
two minutes, and then told him that l /
was not there TO waste my time with (
of that description; that !
l had been sent by the secretary OF |
war TO ascertain if anything could be |