The Washington herald., 1909-02-07


saaterisI. Elliott formulated II. and
M,sies used 1t in the examination OF
witnesses The upsh0t Of It all was that
] was appointed the first director OF the
newly-organized bureau OF statistics.
commerce. and navigation, since ampli-
fed into the Department of Commerce
and Labor. After I had gotten matters
in my department working smoothly. l
was summoned by the President in 1856
to assist him IN the preparation OF Ger
tain public papers. For this purpose, l
attended the PresidenI in the library OF
the White House. an apartment adjoin-
ing ~the Presidents Office, the door be-
tween them being always open, which
left me seeing but unseen; the silent Wit
nefs OF the episodes which / entered in
my diary, or which I can recall from
memory. There We're many others which
il would be imprudent and perhaps mis-
chieyOus 10 publish. Let the dead bury
the dead.
In order 10 Judge Of the extent to which
President Johnson would have carried on
+ the reconstruction policies Of President
Lincoln had he been suffered 10 do so un-
/ interrupted, It is necessary to speak by
the card
Knew Him Intimately.
I knew Mr. johnson intimately; I was
with him great deal: knew his mind
on this subject; I knew. I saw, I felt.
that he had no other object than 70 car
~ out Lincoln's policy precisely as Lin
coin had planned il; but no words of
mine az this late day vin suffice 10 es-
tablish a fact the very converse Of which
was made the ground Of an impeach-
ment, carefully drawn up and managed
/ by such astute lawyers and experienced
/ politicians as Thad Stevens. George 5.
Boutwell,. John A Bingham, Benjamin F.
Butler, Wilson. Logan, and Williams. At
the first meeting Of the managers Gov.
Boutwell, was chosen as their leader: and.
although ne afterward gave way TO the
petty jealousy OF Bingham. he always
remained the leading spirit OF the move
ment. Il was he who drew I'd the orig
/ inal articles Of Impeachment; he who
amended and perfected them; Re who
/ inserted that crafty clause in the appro-
I priatiOn act OF March. 1865, which, IN
7 noticed by the Uususpicious President
/ deprived him Of his constitutional com
mand Of the army and made him practi-
cally a state suspect" and he who pur-
I cAEA uWiAiACVA ktA OAlN 10 AaaE Mdl AaltA
4 the impeachment was defeated in the
Senate and the prosecuted President was
hurried 20 his grave. but who continued
I 10 pursue him in magazine articles Iong
after his death.
/ also knew Mr. Boutwell, We were
I members Of the same club and often me;
anu incidentally touched upon matters
( OF public interest Indeed. I have let
\ ters from him dated within the last few
years. He was what IS called a self
made man, strong. shreyd. suspicious
! and honest. but narrow. vindictive, ig-
/ nOrant OF ths broader phases and rela-
7 tons OF political life. ignorant OF finance
and the tricks OF fnanciers. ignorant OF
Z foreign languages and literature, oi
7 foreign intrigues. OF foreign politics. and
I Of its bearings upon our own. He was
/ cOnceited in that he thought he knew il
| al" when he did not: and he was the
/ unconscious tool Of men far better in
\ formed and more acute and designing
/ than himself. I could name them. but ]
I refrain. Foreign princes are now vast
I ing the money which was lifted oui
! Of Boutweils deplorsble blunders.
Not Opposed TO Lincoln.
A few years ago M Boutwell, pub
Iished an article In some New York maya
zine on The Impeachment OF Andrew
Johnson in which he sought to Jus.
+ tify this proceeding by showing that
I II was based upon opinions. UtteraIces
and actions diametricaIly opposed 20
Mr.. Lincoln's policy. or as he sometime.
/ termed it. the Republican policy
+ Among his charges were the following.
/ T. 4 do not find evidence which vii
/ justify the statement that Mr.. johnson
was a disbeliever IN the right Of a Stat.
to secede from the Union" Answer
! Then he could rot have looked for Il
| nor recognized Il when he saw Il
for il appears in almost everything tha
Johnson said. wrote. OF did He alway,
Gisbelieved in and denied the right o.
secession
II. When he became President h,
was an opponent OF negro suffrage
Answer. Quite the cRtrary, he sait
the negroes had the same rights as tn
whites. but that IN order 70 vote intelli
gently It was necessary for them TO b
trained. This is precisely what Mr. Tai
says to-day.
III From a careful roadside conver
sation with Air- Johnson, reported by hi
former chief OF police in Tennessee.
nan named Marshall. M Boutwell, say
that ''it must be accepted as evidence
quite conclusive. that IN February. 1856
Mr.. Johnson was then opposed to tn
policy Of the Republican party. He wa
opposed to the dissolution Of the Union
but not necessarily upon the ground tina
the Union had q supreme right to exist.
Answer: Just the opposite. Mr. John
son repeatedly declared that the Unioi
was designed to be a perpetuity and a re
publican example 10 the world for a
time"
Answers TO Boutwell,.
" "Mr. Johnson's inauguration speecl
In the Senate chamber. directed appa
rently to ;he diplomatic corps. excited ap
prehensiOns-
Answer: Mr.. Johnson simply repeate
what Mr. Lincoln had already said in
formal document Here the difference be
tween the two ex-governors was mos
marked Mr.. Boutwell, was easily in
fuenced by foreign apprehension" es
Z pecially aristrocratic ones. He had hi
eye upon Mexico. upon Napoleon, upoI
the London haute finance, upon every
thing and everybody who threatened tn
perpetuity Of the Union. Indeed, Nj
Il Boutwell, himself admits this, where h
says that johnson adopted ''Githout re
serve the policy OF Abraham Lincoln a
President" which included viewing "a
enemies 10 the peace and independents
OF the country the efforts OF any powe
TO obtain new fothoIds for monarchica
government on this continent"
| Y. said Mr.. Boutwell,: Mr.. LincoIl
IN his last speech declared that the Sc
ceding States could become members o
the American Union only by the organ
ized action Of each and the concurren
I action of the existing national govern