Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-12

go back to work. He and his men march
ed downstairs and out of the building.
1.-The war had been over more than a
year before / got an explanation or that
Secretary of War Stanton. who, 1t
turned out, was responsible Tor the
whole thing.
81 suppose it did seem rather hard
on YOU said Stanton. smiling. e., P in
formation that false message was 10
be sent over the wires-a message that
would have stirred the whole north, and
possibly rocked the very seat or gov
eminent. Of course. the message would
have been without truth, but had 1t
gotten out the mischief might have
been wrought before We could prove
its falsity to the people SO the only
thing to do was to keep 1T from pelng
The only way to do that was to keep
everybody away from the telegraph
KEYS. Possibly the man with the
original message sta. ted Tor some OIL
fee, only to hear of the soldiers mere
and changed his mind. At any rate, the
plan worked, and the message was
never sent
WAS the message to have been sent
from Washington" 1 ased.
1--WE weren't quite sure where 1t was
to start he replied. But We provided
for that What happened in your once
also happened in the offices in Baltimore
Philadelphia New York and Boston al
the same time. I won't tell you just
what the message was to have been. but
I'll say this. 1t was part of a monster
plot to overthrow the whole government
to create dissension within dissension.
And if that message had ever gotten out
y1S 10
didn't know why they were doing what
they did any more than you. they were
merely obeying orders that were given
without explanation. The only people
who knew why those orders were gwen
at the time were myself and the Presi-
dent"
Even after the war was long over and
done, Bender's life at the key was still
fraught with episodes OF national I'M
portance Telephones were unknown IN
those days, and the telegraph wire was
the one method of quick communication.
Consequently the public men of those
days held their conferences over the
telegraph wire. leasing it for half an
or more, for the purpose. 1t was
through this custom that Bender became
intimately acquainted with Gen. Grant
The latter evinced keen interest In
telegraphy and In way became sort
of semt-student under Bender, who un-
dertook to explain to him how things
worked, and even to teach him the rudi-
ments of sending and receiving. Gen.
Grant, however, though a great soldIe
and statesman, was not a particularly
apt pupil of the Morse code.
*
Before Gen. Grant, however, Bender
was the sender in one Of the most i'm
portant wire conferences Of his day. It
came the night after Lincoln died, when
Henry Wilson, President pro tenn. of
the United States Senate, Senator
Charles Sumner and Schuyler Colfax,
Speaker Of the House. hurried into
his Office and demanded wires to
Boston and New York. After this they
proceeded to discuss events with a num-
Der of statesmen Of national note who
happened to be in those cities at the
time.
.'Their talk was all of Andrew Johnson
who was soon to be inaugurated to i'll
Lincoln's unexpired term said Bender
'.They had just come from conference
with him which had ended in terrible
discord johnson, 1t seemed, wouldn't dc
a thing they wanted him to, or, vice
versa, il you wish, they wouldn't do q
thing Johnson wanted. They were fol
one policy. Johnson was all for another
:. He's bull-headed.' declared Wilson
over the wire. He absolutely refuses tc
listen to reason. What are We going t.