Sunday Washington globe., 1902-05-11


What charged was true and his charge
against ME was false as the letter is still in
existence and proves that was correct. Be-
sides would Congress, knowing that it was
creating an $500 position for a particular
individual who was long previously selected
to fill it, have created the positioH2 The
letter of General Lieber is in Document No.
u, Fifty-hfth Congress, sd session and can
be perused by any one.
I would like the Senators FROM the state
of Indiana to take note Of the ill-treatment
perpetrated on one of their brave comrades
by the heads of the Judge Advocate
Generals Office, War Department. in leaving
him of the estimates in order to get rid of
MIN. This ill-treatment was perpetrated
upon HIM by General Lieber, and consum-
mated by making Congress a party to it un-
Willingly, When Congress passed the ap
preparation bill without providing his
salary then General Lieber, in violation of
law, discharged him He was protected by
Section I7S4, Revised Statutes, and in vio-
lation of the protection accorded to him by
law General Lieber discharged him.
This is only one of the methods employed
to get rid of the brave boys who served
their country. was the only old soldier
left in the Office, and they kept up their un-
jhst stdiscrimiuationsa against re until inally
resigned. leaving the Office from that time
to this without a single representative of
the great War of the Rebellion on the Union
side, but they have one eK-Confederate
colonel aud many sympathizers of the
Lost Cause" who have matters all their
own way.
I felt keenly the need of some legislation
to prevent such an abuse of law and i'll.
treatment of the old soldiers and wrote to
the Hon. Nelson Dingley. chairman Of the
Ways and Means Committee. relating to
him the ill-treatment of Mr.. Sprague and
Incidentally my own I will quote from
that letter, as shortly after wrote it Mr..
DingleY died and nothing was done, except
by their using the letter to drive me out Of
Government employ and blacklisting me
from ever holding any position in the War
Department. hold in my possession let
ters to this effect, aud which in due time
will be made public
quote from that letter as follows:
MIR. Sprague, a Republican, with the
following military record, as per Register Of
the War Department, is as follows: Enlisted
in Company f." Fifteenth Regiment, In.
diana Volunteers, June Z, 1861 permanently
disabled by wounds received at the storm
ing of Missionary Ridge November 25 1868
Discharged June rs, 1904. Clerk Claims
Commission, War Department January co.
1867, to June 3o 1868. Clerk of Class .
Office of the Secretary of War July 1, 1855
to August 81, 1870. Clerk Quartermaster
Generals Office, September I, 1870, to Jam
uary 81, 1876.
He was in this Office until the Dockery
committee, seeking to reduce the expenses
of the Government q legislated him out
of Office and he had TO go, without any pro-
vision being made for him Cor his family
by way of transfer, which could easily have
been done had it not been intended to throw
him entirely out of the service. His pre-
vious bravery on tile Geld of battle, in the
thickest of the fight, did not count for any
thing A sad commentary on what this
Office does for the brave boys in blue Mr..
Dockery was Of Missouri and Mr. Morrison
aided Mr.. Dockery to find one clerk whose
services could be dispensed with. Mr..
Sprague was faithful clerk or he would
not have been so long retained in the Cow
eminent service, in the different Offices
which he filed. 1 believe he never re-
ceived auy appointment under the Govern.
ment-turned out like an old horse to die
OF live as best he could"
This ends the quotation from my letter
to Mr. Dingley, and on this true statement
of facts General Lieber preferred a charge
against me.
To show the bitterness of General Lieber
against old soldiers, l will state that he dis
charged Mr.. Sprague who, as have stated,
had the protection of the law, Section I7S4
| Revised Statutes, he having been dis
| charged on account Of wounds received in
battle as heretofore stated: there were three
other clerks of his class, Class T. who were
/ not protected by law. / consider it tn,
most Aagraut and outrageous treatment o.
/ an old soldier that ever came to my notice
| In my own case was not protected by thi.
| section, but the treatment which receive
was equally effective to get rid of me
finally resiguiug to free myself from thei
| ill-treatment. I was an ex-Union veteran
having served in both the infantry anC
cavalry branches of the military servic,
from the state of Pennsylvania, where the
official Republican majority was in the last
/ Presidential election 2Q5,o7o. I am now
blacklisted by the officials of the War De
partment, aud forever debarred from eithei
! appointment or reinstate ment to any posi-
tiOn in that department, as per letters II
| my p possession.
| The Mr.. Morrison, to whom I referred il
/ my letter to Mr.. Dingley, was the chief
clerk, when he got rid of Mr. Sprague and
/ by his methods in keeping me out of the
/ line Of promotion by giving me low ratings
and giving his sister high ratings, he sue
ceeded in having her advanced over me on
/ the 22ud Of August 1893, although as
have heretofore stated. she had come into
the Office over nine years after I entered IL
and was advanced over myself contrary 70
all civil service rules, as she had never taker
a civil service examination and by every
principle of right and justice was not en-
titled 10 have the preference.
Her brother was appointed-a maIor IL
the Regular Army, February 60 1888 anC
assigned to the Judge Advocate Generals
Office as the assistant to the Judge advocat,
general. He was disloYal 70 all old sol
diers.
He had shown his hostility to Mr. Spragu,
and by his treatment'of myself, which wai
nothing short Of ill-treatmeut Of the verl