HIS MAGNANIMITY.
Mr. Lincoln regarded all public offices within his gift as a sacred
trust, to be administered solely for the people, and as in no sense a
fund upon which he could draw for the payment of private accounts. He
was exempt from the frailties common to most men, and he cast aside the
remembrance of all provocations for which he had cause to nourish
resentment. Here is a notable instance: A rather distinguished man had
been for years a respected acquaintance; his son, who was in the army,
was convicted of a grave offence, the penalty of which might have been
death. Lincoln, at the solicitation of the father, pardoned the son.
Time passed on until the political campaign of 1864, when a secret
military organization was formed in the State of Illinois to oppose the
re-election of Lincoln, and that father was at the head of this secret
organization. Some time after the election, the filling of an important
bureau office in the Treasury Department was under advisement. Among the
applicants was an old acquaintance of Mr. Lincoln, who was strongly
recommended by his friends. After a pause, Mr. Lincoln thoughtfully
said, "Well, gentlemen, whatever you may think, I never thought Mr. ----
had any more than an average amount of ability when we were young men
together,--I really didn't;" and then, after a short silence, he added:
"But this is a matter of opinion, and I suppose he thought just the same
about me; he had reason to, and--here I am! I guess we shall have to
give him some good place, but not this one. This position requires a man
of peculiar ability to fill it. I have been thinking seriously of giving
it to a man who does not like me very well, and who sought to defeat my
renomination. I can't afford to take notice of and punish every person
who has seen fit to oppose my election. We want a competent man for this
place. I know of no one who could perform the duties of this most
responsible office better than ----," calling him by name. And this
ingrate father got the appointment!
At another time there was an interview at the White House between a
prominent politician of New York and Mr. Lincoln, in reference to the
removal of an office-holder in New York. Every reason that could be
thought of was urged in favor of the removal, and finally it was urged
that this office-holder abused Mr. Lincoln personally. Mr. Lincoln at
last got out of patience, and ended the interview as follows: "You
cannot think ---- to be half as mean to me as I _know_ him to be; but I
cannot run this thing upon the theory that every office-holder must
think I am the greatest man in the nation, and I will not." The man
named, notwithstanding his meanness to Mr. Lincoln, remained in office
as long as Mr. Lincoln was President.
So much of Mr. Lincoln's time was taken up with questions of
office-seeking and office-holding, when he felt every moment should be
devoted to plans to avert the perils then threatening the country, that
he once compared himself to "a man so busy in letting rooms in one end
of his house that he cannot stop to put out the fire that is burning the
other."
Mr. Lincoln was an ambitious man, but he desired power less for the sake
of prestige or authority than for the opportunities it presented of
being useful and beneficent in its exercise. Eagerly as he sought the
approval of his fellow-citizens where this could be attained without the
sacrifice of principle, he was always generous in according to others
whatever would lead to public approval. Immediately after the battle of
Gettysburg, Mr. Lincoln sat down and wrote a peremptory order to General
Meade to intercept Lee in his retreat, give him battle, and by this bold
stroke crush the rebel army and end the rebellion. The order was
accompanied by a friendly note, in which the great patriot said to
Meade: "The order I inclose is not of record. If you succeed, you need
not publish the order. If you fail, publish it. Then if you succeed, you
will have all the credit of the movement. If not, I'll take the
responsibility."
The manifestation of popular admiration and esteem as the people's
choice for the highest position within their gift, Mr. Lincoln most
highly valued, while his self-reliance and his _amour propre_ led him
at times to look upon favors bestowed upon him as a matter of personal
right, as a consideration due to himself individually. With all this,
his love of country was his paramount incentive. There was no period in
the progress of the war at which he would not willingly have laid down
his life, if by so doing he could have averted further bloodshed, and
remanded his fellow-countrymen to the enjoyment of a restored
tranquillity and renewed brotherhood. One instance in which this
sentiment led him to propose an extraordinary act of self-immolation is
deserving of special mention.
Mr. Lincoln ardently desired, on the return of peace, to exercise his
functions as Chief Magistrate of a reunited country. This, with the
reconstruction of the general government, was the darling aspiration of
his heart, the dearest heritage which the advent of peace could bestow.
But he subjected this ambition to the promptings of a Roman patriotism,
and proposed upon certain conditions a frank, full, and honest
renunciation of all claims to the Presidency for a second term; and in
declining, under any circumstances, to be a candidate for re-election,
he would cordially throw his entire influence, in so far as he could
control it, in behalf of Horatio Seymour, then governor of New York, for
President. The conditions were substantially as follows: Governor
Seymour was to withdraw his opposition to the draft, use his authority
and influence as governor in putting down the riots in New York, and
co-operate in all reasonable ways with the Administration in the
suppression of the Southern rebellion. This proposition was to be made
through Mr. Thurlow Weed.
It so happened that at this time Mr. Weed was dissatisfied with the
President for something he had either done or omitted to do, and had on
several occasions refused to come to Washington when his presence was
earnestly desired there. He must now be seen and advised with; he must
personally effect the negotiation, for he could accomplish it more
successfully than any other man. How to induce him to come to Washington
was the question to be solved. "The tinkling of Mr. Seward's little
bell" had struck terror to the souls of evil-doers in the North, and all
his dispatches over the wires were narrowly watched. It was inexpedient
for him to use telegraphic facilities of communication except upon the
most commonplace subjects, since everything emanating from him was
eagerly scanned and devoured by the _quid nuncs_ throughout the country.
A special messenger was therefore decided on, for affairs were now in a
precarious condition, and daily, hourly growing worse, and time was
important. The messenger started immediately for New York, but was
recalled before reaching the train. He was thereupon directed to
telegraph in his own name to Mr. Weed, and that gentleman arrived in
Washington by the next succeeding train. After a lengthy interview with
the President and Mr. Seward, Mr. Weed telegraphed to Governor Seymour
requesting him to come to Washington on business of urgent importance.
This the governor declined to do, adding, in his reply, that the
distance to and from Washington and Albany was precisely the same, and
that if they wanted to confer with him, to come to Albany, where he
would be glad to meet them. Mr. Weed, upon this, left for that city, and
after making a very brief stay there, returned to Washington and
reported "Proposition declined."
This answer was not expected by Mr. Lincoln, especially in time of civil
war, and from the governor of the great and influential State of New
York; and it was with sincere and manifest chagrin that the President
saw himself deterred from making the magnanimous self-sacrifice
proposed.
Nothing that affected the interests of the government escaped Mr.
Lincoln's vigilant thought and careful consideration. I recollect that
on one occasion, just after the greenback currency got under full
headway of circulation, I was in his office when the conversation turned
on the condition of our finances, and on the greenback as a
representative of money. He was in high spirits that day, and seemed to
feel happier than I had seen him for a long time. I casually asked him
if he knew how our currency was made.
"Yes," said he; "I think it is about--as the lawyers would say--in the
following manner, to wit: the engraver strikes off the sheets, passes
them over to the Register of the currency, who places his earmarks upon
them, signs them, hands them over to Father Spinner, who then places
his wonderful signature at the bottom, and turns them over to Mr. Chase,
who, as Secretary of the United States Treasury, issues them to the
public as money,--and may the good Lord help any fellow that doesn't
take all he can honestly get of them!" Taking from his pocket a five
dollar greenback, with a twinkle of his eye, he said: "Look at Spinner's
signature! Was there ever anything like it on earth? Yet it is
unmistakable; no one will ever be able to counterfeit it!"[J]
[J] [Illustration: Signature]
"But," I said, "you certainly don't suppose that Spinner actually wrote
his name on that bill, do you?"
"Certainly I do; why not?"
I then asked, "How much of this currency have we afloat?"
He remained thoughtful for a moment, and then stated the amount.
I continued: "How many times do you think a man can write a signature
like Spinner's in the course of twenty-four hours?"
The beam of hilarity left his countenance at once. He put the greenback
into his vest pocket, and walked the floor; after awhile he stopped,
heaved a long breath and said, "This thing frightens me!" He then rang
for a messenger, and told him to ask the Secretary of the Treasury to
please come over to see him. Mr. Chase soon put in an appearance. Mr.
Lincoln stated the cause of his alarm, and asked Mr. Chase to explain in
detail the _modus operandi_, the system of checks in his office, etc.,
and a lengthy discussion followed,--Lincoln contending that there were
not sufficient checks to afford any degree of safety in the money-making
department, and Mr. Chase insisting that all the guards for protection
were afforded that he could devise. "In the nature of things," he said,
"somebody must be trusted in this emergency. You have entrusted me, and
Mr. Spinner is entrusted with untold millions, and we have to trust our
subordinates." Words waxed warmer than I had ever known them to do
between these distinguished gentlemen, when Mr. Lincoln feelingly
apologized by saying,--
"Don't think that I am doubting or could doubt your integrity, or that
of Mr. Spinner; nor am I finding fault with either of you; but it
strikes me that this thing is all wrong, and dangerous. I and the
country know you and Mr. Spinner, but we don't know your subordinates,
who are great factors in making this money, and have the power to
bankrupt the government in an hour. Yet there seems to be no protection
against a duplicate issue of every bill struck, and I can see no way of
detecting duplicity until we come to redeem the currency; and even then,
the duplicate cannot be told from the original."
The result of this conversation was, that Lincoln became so impressed
with danger from this source that he called the attention of Congress to
the matter, and a joint committee was appointed. Senator Sprague of
Rhode Island was its chairman; but the result of the investigation,
like many others during the war, was never made public to my knowledge.
Considering the crippled financial condition of our country, and the
importance of first-class credit abroad during our war, as little
publicity on the subject as possible was doubtless the best for us
politically.
_Apropos_ of greenbacks, Don Piatt gave a description in the "North
American Review," a few years ago, of the first proposition to Mr.
Lincoln to issue interest-bearing notes as currency, which was as
follows:--
"Amasa Walker, a distinguished financier of New England, suggested
that notes issued directly from the government to the people, as
currency, should bear interest. This for the purpose, not only of
making the notes popular, but for the purpose of preventing
inflation, by inducing people to hoard the notes as an investment
when the demands of trade would fail to call them into circulation
as a currency.
"This idea struck David Taylor, of Ohio, with such force that he
sought Mr. Lincoln and urged him to put the project into immediate
execution. The President listened patiently, and at the end said,
'That is a good idea, Taylor; but you must go to Chase. He is
running that end of the machine, and has time to consider your
proposition.' Taylor sought the Secretary of the Treasury, and laid
before him Amasa Walker's plan. Chase heard him through in a cold,
unpleasant manner, and then said: 'That is all very well, Mr.
Taylor; but there is one little obstacle in the way that makes the
plan impracticable, and that is the Constitution.' Saying this, he
turned to his desk, as if dismissing both Mr. Taylor and his
proposition at the same moment.
"The poor enthusiast felt rebuked and humiliated. He returned to
the President, however, and reported his defeat. Mr. Lincoln
looked at the would-be financier with the expression at times so
peculiar to his homely face, that left one in doubt whether he was
jesting or in earnest. 'Taylor!' he exclaimed, 'go back to Chase
and tell him not to bother himself about the Constitution. Say that
I have that sacred instrument here at the White House, and I am
guarding it with great care.' Taylor demurred to this, on the
ground that Mr. Chase showed by his manner that he knew all about
it, and didn't wish to be bored by any suggestion. 'We'll see about
that,' said the President, and taking a card from the table he
wrote upon it, 'The Secretary of the Treasury will please consider
Mr. Taylor's proposition. We must have money, and I think this a
good way to get it.--A. LINCOLN.'
"Armed with this, the real father of the greenbacks again sought
the Secretary. He was received more politely than before, but was
cut short in his advocacy of the measure by a proposition for both
of them to see the President. They did so, and Mr. Chase made a
long and elaborate constitutional argument against the proposed
measure.
"'Chase,' said Mr. Lincoln, after the Secretary had concluded,
'down in Illinois I was held to be a pretty good lawyer, and I
believe I could answer every point you have made; but I don't feel
called upon to do it.... These rebels are violating the
Constitution to destroy the Union; I will violate the Constitution,
if necessary, to save the Union: and I suspect, Chase, that our
Constitution is going to have a rough time of it before we get done
with this row. Now, what I want to know is, whether, Constitution
aside, this project of issuing interest-bearing notes is a good
one?'
"'I must say,' responded Mr. Chase, 'that, with the exception you
make, it is not only a good one, but the only one open to us to
raise money. If you say so, I will do my best to put it into
immediate and practical operation, and you will never hear from me
any opposition on this subject.'"[10]
[10] Page 219, last line, after the word "subject."
At a cabinet meeting, the advisability of putting a motto on greenbacks
similar to the "In God We Trust" on the silver coins was discussed and
the President was asked what his view was. He replied, "if you are going
to put a motto on the greenback, I would suggest that of Peter and John:
'Silver and gold we have not, but what we have we'll give you.'"
Mr. Lincoln acquired the name of "honest Abe Lincoln" by a kind of
honesty much higher than that which restrains a man from the
appropriation of his neighbor's goods. He did not feel at liberty to
take every case that was offered him. He was once overheard saying to a
man who was consulting him and earnestly urging his legal rights, "Yes,
I can gain your suit. I can set a neighborhood at loggerheads. I can
distress a widowed mother and six fatherless children, and get for you
six hundred dollars, to which, for all I can see, she has as good a
right as you have. But I will not do so. There are some legal rights
which are moral wrongs."
Mr. Lincoln at no time in his life could tolerate anything like
persecution; his whole nature appeared to rebel against any appearance
of such a thing, and he never failed to act in the promptest manner when
any such case was brought to his attention. One of the most celebrated
cases ever tried by any court-martial during the war was that of
Franklin W. Smith and his brother, charged with defrauding the
government. These men bore a high character for integrity. At this time,
however, courts-martial were seldom invoked for any other purpose than
to convict the accused, regardless of the facts in the case, and the
Smiths shared the usual fate of persons whose charges were submitted to
such an arbitrament. They had been kept in prison, their papers seized,
their business destroyed, and their reputation ruined, all which was
followed by a conviction. After the judgment of the court, the matter
was submitted to the President for his approval. The case was such a
remarkable one, and was regarded as so monstrous in its unjust and
unwarrantable conclusion, that Mr. Lincoln, after a full and careful
investigation of it, annulled the whole proceeding. It is very
remarkable that the record of the President's decision could never be
found afterward in the Navy Department. No exact copy can be obtained of
it. Some one in the office, however, familiar with the tenor and effect
of it, furnished its wording as nearly as possible. The following
embraces the sentiment, if not the exact words, of that remarkable
document:--
"_WHEREAS_, Franklin W. Smith had transactions with the Navy
Department to the amount of a million and a quarter of dollars; and
_Whereas_, he had a chance to steal at least a quarter of a million
and was only charged with stealing twenty-two hundred dollars, and
the question now is about his stealing one hundred, I don't believe
he stole anything at all. _Therefore_, the record and the findings
are disapproved, declared null and void, and the defendants are
fully discharged."
In 1862 Senator Sherman had prepared a very elaborate speech in which he
devoted a good portion of it to prove that Mr. Lincoln was a failure and
unless something was soon done by Congress, the war would be a failure.
Someone told Mr. Lincoln that Senator Sherman intended to make such a
speech. Lincoln said: "Well Sherman is a patriot and a statesman and is
thoroughly for the Union; perhaps his opinion of me may be just. It may
do good. I would not have him change a word." Lincoln's remarks that
night were repeated to Sherman and they made such an impression on him
that he omitted from his speech the criticism on Lincoln.
Colonel J. W. Forney relates a characteristic incident of Mr. Lincoln's
generosity to an adversary. He says that one afternoon in February or
March of 1865, he was startled by a visit from his old friend Washington
McLean of the Cincinnati "Inquirer." "I have called," Mr. McLean said,
"to ask you to do me a favor I shall never forget, and you must do it. I
will not take no for an answer. You, and you alone can serve me."
"Well, old friend," said Colonel Forney, "you know I will serve you if I
can; what is it?" "Now don't be alarmed when I tell you that Roger A.
Pryor is in Fort Lafayette, having been captured within our lines, and
that I want you to get him out."
"Roger A. Pryor, of Petersburg; Roger A. Pryor, who fired on Sumter;
Roger A. Prior, the hot-spur of Congress?"
"Yes, and your old coadjutor of the Washington Union when you were both
Democrats together. He went into the Rebellion, is now a prisoner, and I
appeal to you to go with me to the President and ask his release." As
there was no denying his impetuous friend, Colonel Forney got into his
carriage and they were soon at the White House. Mr. McLean was
introduced and it was soon found that Mr. Lincoln knew all about him and
his paper. He told his story, which was patiently heard. Colonel Forney
followed with a statement of his former relations with Mr. Pryor, and
said that he thought an act of liberality to such a man, and on a
request from a frank political opponent like Washington McLean would be
worthy of the head of a great nation.
"Let me see," said Mr. Lincoln, as he fixed his spectacles and turned to
a little drawer in the desk behind him, "I think I have a memorandum
here that refers to some good thing done by General Pryor to a party of
our Pennsylvania boys who were taken prisoners in an attack upon the
Petersburg fortifications." And with that he took out from a small
package a statement signed by the men who had enjoyed the hospitality of
General Pryor on the occasion referred to.
He had, it appears, given them food from his larder at a time when his
own family were in a most desperate condition for provisions. "The man
who can do such kindness to an enemy," said the President, "cannot be
cruel and revengeful;" then he wrote some lines on a card which he
handed to Mr. McLean with the remark: "I think that will do; at any rate
it is all that I can give you," and they took their leave. Going down
stairs they looked with amazement at the writing on the card, which read
thus: "To Colonel Burke, Commanding at Fort Lafayette, New York. Please
release General Roger A. Pryor, who will report to Colonel Forney on
Capitol Hill. A. Lincoln." "Report to Colonel Forney!" Colonel Forney
who was "bubbling over with resentment against the Southern leaders who
had hindered his advancement when Buchanan was elected President." But
there was no changing the order, so Mr. McLean dashed off in the next
train to New York, the happiest Democrat in the United States, and two
days after he walked into Colonel Forney's office with the "prisoner."
General Pryor took the upper rooms of Colonel Forney's lodgings and was
his guest for more than a week, "during which time he was visited by all
the chivalry, male and female, of the vicinage." The President enjoyed
the fact that Colonel Forney had such good company, and Thaddeus
Stephens, his neighbor, habitually accosted him in the morning with the
grim salute: "How's your Democratic friend and brother this morning?"
Colonel Forney had to admit that a more courteous gentleman he had never
met than General Pryor, and did him the justice to say that he expressed
the most fervent gratitude to Mr. Lincoln for his kindness.