Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-24
q BIT or HISTORY.


Grant as : Drunl<en ASS, and Sng-
CRESTED LincoIn's Assassination.
Special to the Register.
CHICAGO, September 2s-Subjoined is a
letter written by Murat Halstead to Sec
rotary of the Treasury Salmon p. Chase
during the war of the rebellion. As Mr..
Halstead has been selected as the general
spokesman of the Republican party in the
joint debates now running in many news
papers in the United States, this letter
has been exceedingly severe on the Demo-
Gratis for what he calls their attack on the
Mckinley administration during time of
war. Read what Mr., Halstead wrote in
February, 1858, when this country was in
volved in one of the greatest struggles
known to history. Here is the monstrous
document in cold type:
office Cincinnati Daily and Weekly Com
mercial. Fourth and Race streets,
CINCINNATI, Feb. 10 1863.
Governor Chase-My Dear Sir: wrote
you a somewhat fantastic letter the other
day. But that l suppose IS not now
strange. / write this morning to send
YOU copy Of a private letter / have from
our army in front Of Vicksburg. 1t is
from close observer, who endeavors TO
tell the truth
" There never was a more thoroughly
disguised, disheartened, demoralized army
than this is, and all because it is under
such men as Grant and sherman Disease
is decIrnating its ranks, and while hun
| dreds of poor fellows are dying from
smallpox and every other conceivable NAL
ad he. do, f,
with delirium tremens In Memphis
smallpox patients are made to walk
through the streets from camps TO hospi-
tails, drunken doctors ride from bar rooms
to -- in government am
balances. How is it that Grant
who was behind at Fort Henry. drunk at
Donelson. surprised and whipped at Shi-
lob, and driven back from Oxford, Miss,
is. still in command?
''Governor Chase, these things are true
Our noble army of the Mississippi IS being
WASTED by the foolish, drunken and
stupid Grant. He can't organize or control
or fight an army. l have no personal feel
| ing about it, but know he is an ass
There is not among the whole list OF
retired major generals man who Is no,
| Grants superior Mcclellan, Fremont
Mcdowell, Burnside, Franklin, even Pope
and Sumner would be an improvement
upon the present commander OF the army
of the Mississippi We will wake up some
| Of these days and find that we have nc
army of the Mississippi
Then there is awful encouragement al
the way the foolish old Hunter, who Is
thought to be great man because he is
! not insane in his prejudices on the Negro
| question, is doing. In Gods name. what
| is he waiting for? More endorsements
| Pity he can't die and get out Of the way
as Mitchell did.
But TO stop this sort of growing. and
to come TO something more practical.
The army west and east is being weak
ened hourly by assertions 1t is a great
evil. The thing needful to stop it is for
the President to give each commander OF
departments power to SHOOT DESERT
ERS They must be shot by the dozen.
The Presidents weak, -- humanitarian
is death and hell to the army. Can't you
| take him by the throat and knock his
| head against a wall, until he is brought to
his senses on the war business? | do not
speak wantonly when l say there are per-
oOAAS VIM AS(A ltAeit IL NdS QOlil5 SOQ ,
service to kill him, if it were not feared
that Hamiin Is bigger fool than he is.
And yet the pitiful Congress twaddles
weakly in private caucus about political
| matters, as if a little more niger would
do everything Why don't they pass your
finance measures, and the conscript act
and mind their own business?
THE proclamation is positive nuisance
to every truly loyal man in the West. 1t
is a weapon in the hands of the Butter
nuts. If ii is made party test, VaIlan-
bingham would be elected Governor OF
Ohio. Don't think l am talking at ran
dom. Alas! l know what / am talking
about. What is wanted
IA general for our army of the Mis-
sissippi.
'2.-Deserters shot by our commanders
of departments.
'3.-Less dependence upon the Niger,
| and more on the white man.
1.-THE consolidation of the fragments
of regiments.
'5.-Arrest and try Henry May and Wen
dell Phillips for treason.
"6.-Suppress the New York Tribune and
New York World
M. HALsTEAD.'