Salmon P. Chase, when Secretary of the Treasury, had a disagreement with
other members of the Cabinet, and resigned.
The President was urged not to accept it, as “Secretary Chase is to-day
a national necessity,” his advisers said.
“How mistaken you are!” Lincoln quietly observed. “Yet it is not
strange; I used to have similar notions. No! If we should all be turned
out to-morrow, and could come back here in a week, we should find our
places filled by a lot of fellows doing just as well as we did, and in
many instances better.
“Now, this reminds me of what the Irishman said. His verdict was that
‘in this country one man is as good as another; and, for the matter
of that, very often a great deal better.’ No; this Government does not
depend upon the life of any man.”
“STRETCHED THE FACTS.”
George B. Lincoln, a prominent merchant of Brooklyn, was traveling
through the West in 1855-56, and found himself one night in a town on
the Illinois River, by the name of Naples. The only tavern of the place
had evidently been constructed with reference to business on a small
scale. Poor as the prospect seemed, Mr. Lincoln had no alternative but
to put up at the place.
The supper-room was also used as a lodging-room. Mr. Lincoln told his
host that he thought he would “go to bed.”
“Bed!” echoed the landlord. “There is no bed for you in this house
unless you sleep with that man yonder. He has the only one we have to
spare.”
“Well,” returned Mr. Lincoln, “the gentleman has possession, and perhaps
would not like a bed-fellow.”
Upon this a grizzly head appeared out of the pillows, and said:
“What is your name?”
“They call me Lincoln at home,” was the reply.
“Lincoln!” repeated the stranger; “any connection of our Illinois
Abraham?”
“No,” replied Mr. Lincoln. “I fear not.”
“Well,” said the old gentleman, “I will let any man by the name of
‘Lincoln’ sleep with me, just for the sake of the name. You have heard
of Abe?” he inquired.
“Oh, yes, very often,” replied Mr. Lincoln. “No man could travel far
in this State without hearing of him, and I would be very glad to claim
connection if I could do so honestly.”
“Well,” said the old gentleman, “my name is Simmons. ‘Abe’ and I used
to live and work together when young men. Many a job of woodcutting and
rail-splitting have I done up with him. Abe Lincoln was the likeliest
boy in God’s world. He would work all day as hard as any of us and study
by firelight in the log-house half the night; and in this way he made
himself a thorough, practical surveyor. Once, during those days, I was
in the upper part of the State, and I met General Ewing, whom President
Jackson had sent to the Northwest to make surveys. I told him about Abe
Lincoln, what a student he was, and that I wanted he should give him a
job. He looked over his memorandum, and, holding out a paper, said:
“‘There is County must be surveyed; if your friend can do the work
properly, I shall be glad to have him undertake it--the compensation
will be six hundred dollars.’
“Pleased as I could be, I hastened to Abe, after I got home, with an
account of what I had secured for him. He was sitting before the fire
in the log-cabin when I told him; and what do you think was his answer?
When I finished, he looked up very quietly, and said:
“‘Mr. Simmons, I thank you very sincerely for your kindness, but I don’t
think I will undertake the job.’
“‘In the name of wonder,’ said I, ‘why? Six hundred does not grow upon
every bush out here in Illinois.’
“‘I know that,’ said Abe, ‘and I need the money bad enough, Simmons,
as you know; but I have never been under obligation to a Democratic
Administration, and I never intend to be so long as I can get my living
another way. General Ewing must find another man to do his work.’”
A friend related this story to the President one day, and asked him if
it were true.
“Pollard Simmons!” said Lincoln. “Well do I remember him. It is correct
about our working together, but the old man must have stretched the
facts somewhat about the survey of the county. I think I should have
been very glad of the job at the time, no matter what Administration was
in power.”