Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-24
OLD LETTERS FOUND
In Cleaning the Post Office
Department.
MEN NOTED YEARS AGO
WROTE IN BEHALF OF SOME CON-
STITUENT.
Hoscoe Conkling, Horace Greeley,
Charles Sumner, James A. Gar
field and Others.

Just the other day, during houseclean-
ing in the Post Office Department, a num-
Der of autograph letters written by men
famous in American history were discov-
cred in an old and battered file-case. The
file-case had evidently been considered of
no value. for it had been slowed away In
litle-used portion of the cellar and would
undoubtedly have eventually been broken
up and its contents lost or destroyed.
The papers include letters of recommended
ton by Roscoe Conkling written in 1885,
when he was a representative in Congress
from New York and by Horace Greeley,
James A. Garfield, Charles Sumner and
others Of then national prominence.
Among the papers was the record Of the
first woman appointed to the postal service
and one of the first employed in the govern
ment departments in Washington in any
capacity. Another document bore the writ
ten sentiments of rabid secessionist who
was appointed to office on the strength OF
his "penmanship and composition" against
which his anti-Union sentiments were not
allowed to stand in the way.
The documents are considered as of more
than ordinary interest. particularly as au-
tograph letters of recommendation from
prominent men are now practically things
or the past. Inc general use OF the type
writer and the fact that almost every man
of prominence has a private secretary are
largely responsible for this modern condi-
ton.
Some of the Letters.
Autograph letters of recommendation,
moreover, are not looked upon with favor
In government departments nowadays, and
a missve from Horace Greeley such as
the one on file would probably be thrown
In the waste basket undeciprehable. The
appearance of this letter justifies all things
that were ever said about the great editors
chirography.
The letter from Roscoe Conkling is on
ordinary foolscap paper, in his big, stray
ling handwriting, and looks as if it had
been written with paint brush 1t reads
as follows:
September 10, 1860.
Hon. Montgomery D. Blair, Postmaster
MY Dear Sir: Henry A. Daniels, Utica,
N. Y, is the man of whom l spoke to you
last eve. He is a lawyer by profession,
beautiful penman and man of much cleri-
cal exactness and experience. l earnestly
ask his appointment a thing concerning
my own personal convenience, as well as fit
and urgent otherwise. Very truly, your obt.
seryt., r. CONkLING."
PSI have spoken to Mr.. Kasson, de-
livering to him the message you suggested.
"R. G"
The records show that Mr.. Conklings
brief appeal was successful and that Mr..
Daniels secured q frSt-claSs clerkship in
the Post Office Department
The letter from Horace Greeley is on a
New York Tribune letterhead and 1t took
the appointment clerk just two hours and
half to decipher 1t. The text follows:
WASHINGTON, d. c., March /, 1851.
Dear Sir: have known Hon. j. B. Grin
nell for several years as NEST upright,
able, worthy citizen, first of our city, since
o. Iowa, and l am sure he has ever borne
high character wherever known. ! do
not presume to commend his selection for
any particular office, but l feel a strong
confidence that any to which he may be
assigned will be filed by him with emf
nent fidelity and integrity.
Respectfully
HORACE GREELEY.
ITO the Postmaster General after March
Mr. Greeley's plea was also successful.
for Mr.. Grinnell secured a soft snap that
he held for number of years.
The autograph letter of Charles Sumner
Is brief and TO the point. Mr.. Sumner
wanted a job for a Massachusetts constit-
ucnt, and he asked for it without prellm-
naries and without any remarks to the
candidates qualifications for the place.
The records show that he got it without de-
lay.
A letter of recommends ton from James
A. Garfield received no attention. After a
time Mr.. Garfield wrote another note,
which was not quite so polite and he got
what he was after-a good office for a
friend-in exactly three days.
Mr. Moses Letter.
One of the most interesting papers In the
collection is letter written by one Perry
Moses, who lived In that hotbed of seces-
sion, Charleston, s. c. The circumstances
surrounding the writing of the letter and
Mr.. Moses appointment to $1,000 office IN
the postal service were somewhat peculiar.
Mr.. Moses applied for place just at the
close of the Buchanan administration. He
mad prominent backing for the important
place he desired and Horatio King, who
WAS then first assistant postmaster general,
wrote him a personal letter suggesting that
he send communication to the department
on the state of the Union" Mr.. King ap-
parently selected this subject because 1T
happened 10 be the first that entered his
mind, and the letter from Mr.. Moses was
ilcations in the line of penmanship, COM
position and the like. The following was
the result:
"Sir-You asked me this morning for an
expression of my opinion on the state of
the Union the subject is one of grave and
vast Importance, involving, as 1t does, the
interests of probably over thirty million
inhabitants.
at is at this time engrossing The thoughts
of not only every thinking man and patriot,
but even women and children. for the In
terests of all are indissolubly connected
by links of the same chain Our political
horizon is shrouded in gloom and dark
ness AMI the ship of state hangs hoverlng
on the verge of DEATH none can say If he
will ever weather the storm or be engulfed
in the awful abyss that yawns beyond. We
hear the breakers and we feel the storm,
but God alone, who rules the whirlwind,
can say If she will reach harbor of safety
or be shattered into n thousand fragments.
Section is now 'unhappiiy arrayed against
section; the 9th of November, the big day
of the deStinies of our country and our In
stitutions will decide whether or not we
shall pursue the even tenor of our way.
peaceful and prospecting under democratic
rule, or witness the triumph of party
whose policy, it is feared may be bitterly
hostile to the south and her institutions. an
event which from present appearances we
have but too much reason to expect.
New York is now the Palladium of our
safety; may she in her conservativeness,
hurl back the advancing tide Of sectional
ism and dispel the dark clouds of anxiety
and trouble which now lower about us.
Should the fates decree 1t otherwise,
fear the agitation which will ensue may
sever the bonds that now unite US as one
people.
The state of excitement prevailing in my
native state and other sections the south