The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-10-11

ever have been the case had the name
remained intact.
Owing to the great excitement of
the period, it was impossible to ascer-
tain with any assured success just how
the name was cut off and by whose
orders. Diligen. research on the part
of officials of the War Department has
failed to unearth any order directing
the mutilation of the tablet. 1t has
been supposed that the tablet was cut
by order of Lieutenant Meigs, the
engineer, who became Quartermaster
General during the war, but this was
always emphatically denied by General
Meigs and his friends. When General
Meigs died in 1892: the story was
again revived. but his son, Montgom-
cry Meigs, publicly declared that:
"My father wrote a member of my
family that the erasure was made with
out consultation with him, without his
knowledge and at time when he no
longer had any control over the aque-
duct"
The follow ing version of the erasure
and its causes is given by William r.
Hutton, formerly chief engineer of the
aqueduct, and now a distinguished
civil engineer Of New York. Mr..
Hutton's statement, made to the son
Of General Meigs, says:
"In June, 1862, at the request of the
Secretary of the Interior, Hon. Caleb
B. Smith, to whose department the
Aqueduct had just been transferred, l
accompanied the Secretary and num-
ber of members of Congress on tour
of inspection of the aqueduct, by way
Of the canal. Opposite Cabin John
Bridge several of the party disem-
barked and walked to the bridge for a
nearer view. Returning in hot haste,
DO you know, said Hon. Galusha
Grow to the Secretary, that id rebel
Meigs has put jeff Davis's name on
the bridge?' Turning to me the Sec
retary said: The first order give you
is to cut jeff. Davis's name off the
bridge A few days later l was ap-
pointed Chief Engineer of the aqueduct.
Not taking seriously the Secretary's
remark l did nothing in the matter.
A week later Mr.. Robert Mcintyre,
the contractor, arrived to resume his
work upon the bridge, and called to
pay his respects to the Secretary.
The Secretary said to him that they
had put jeff. Davis's name on the
bridge; he wished he would cut it off.
with the greatest pleasure, Mr.. Secre-
tary,' was the reply, and the contrac-
tors first work was to remove Mr..
Davis's name"
There is no record whatever of any
written order directing the removal of
the name of Jefferson Davis, so it is
considered as an unofficial act on the
part of the Secretary.
The question Of restoring the name
to its proper place has been agitated
at times by Southern Congressman
and Senators. but never vigorously,
because there was such strong ar.
tagonistic sentiment toward the South
still remaining from the Civil War.
1t was only natural to expect that the
South would wish the name restored.
Now, however, movement having
its origin in the North, and supported
by no less than score of prominent
Senators and Representatives, has
taken shape for the restoration of the
name and justice to the memory of the
dead ex President of the Confederacy.
A few days ago Hon. John Barrett, of
Vermont, ex-Minister to Siam, and
now one of the delegates to the Pan
American Congress, which meets in
Mexico in the fall, visited Cabin John
Bridge in company with several con-
gressional friends. Mr. Barrett had
never before noticed the erasure on the
tablet, and inquired the reason. 1t
required some little research before his
curiosity was satisfied, as 1t appeared
that the members of the party were 70
wiser than he. Upon his return to
the city he made inquiries at the War
Department, and when he learned that
the erasure was only the unofficial act
Of some one not even connected with
the War Department, which has con-
troll of the bridge, he Immediately
placed himself on record as declaring
that, in the interest of history and
truth, that tablet should be restored
to its original condition. He has
talked the matter up among his influ-
entail congressional friends, and quite
a movement is already under way to
have the matter brought up in Con-
gress in the fall 1t may not be nec-
essary for Congress to act, since the
vandalism was unofficial, and simple
order of the Secretary of War mi ght
be sufficient In case the Secretary
does not feel like taking the initiative
in such a delicate matter the subject
will surely be brought up in Congress
in the fall, and will undoubtedly be
favorabl y considered.
While Barret is Northerncr in
blood and sympathy, he is broad
minded and generous in his feelings
toward the South and its traditions of
H.