It is a singular circumstance in the career of John C. Fremont that
his important services as an explorer and his contributions to science
were brought to a close when he was scarcely more than thirty-four
years of age. He was born in the State of Georgia in the year 1813,
and from the year 1842 to the year 1846 inclusive, he undertook and
carried to a successful result three expeditions from the Mississippi
River across the plains, and finally over both chains of the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Jefferson, during his
administration had realized the importance of securing "open over-land
commercial relations with Asia," as stated in one of his messages to
Congress, and, as a preparation for establishing such relations with
Asia, he originated and organized the expedition of Lewis and Clark,
whose duty it was to trace the affluents of the Columbia River now
known as Snake River and Clarke's Fork.
Fremont's early education was obtained under the charge largely of Dr.
John Roberton, a Scotchman, who had been educated at Edinburgh, and who
had established himself at Charleston, S. C., as a teacher of the
ancient languages. Dr. Roberton says that in the space of a year
Fremont read four books of Caesar, six books of Vergil, nearly all of
Horace, and two books of Livy; and in Greek, all the Graeca Minora,
about half of the Graeca Majora, and four books of Homer's Iliad. At
the end of a year he entered the Junior Class of Charleston College,
where he gained high standing for study and in scholarship; but for
insubordination he was expelled from the college.
In 1833 he was appointed teacher of mathematics in the Navy, and made
a cruise to South America, which occupied about two and a half years
of time. While absent, a law was passed creating the office of
professor of mathematics in the Navy, for which Fremont upon his return
was examined, and appointed. Without entering upon the duties of the
place, he declined the position, and accepted the post of surveyor and
railroad engineer upon the railway line between Charleston and Augusta.
In 1838 and 1839 he was associated with M. Nicollet, a Frenchman and a
member of the Academy of Science, in an exploring expedition over the
Northwestern prairie and along the valley of the Mississippi. During
his absence, he was appointed by President Van Buren a second
lieutenant in the corps of topographical engineers. Upon his return
from the Upper Mississippi, and for the period of a year, he was
engaged with Nicollet and Mr. Hassler, then the head of the Coast
Survey, in the arrangement of the scientific materials that had been
collected during the expedition, and in the preparation of a map and
a report. In 1842 he was directed by Colonel Abert, the chief of the
topographical corps, to make an exploration of the Northwestern
frontier of the State of Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, and with
special reference to an examination of what was known as South Pass in
those mountains. This expedition was on a small scale, consisting of
twenty-one men only, most of whom were of French extraction. In this
expedition he traced the waters of the Platte to the South Pass, which
he reached the 8th of August. It was stated by Dr. Linn, then a
Senator from the State of Missouri, that "over the whole course of the
road barometrical observations were made by Mr. Fremont to ascertain
the elevations both of the plains and of the mountains, astronomical
observations were made to ascertain latitudes and longitudes, the
face of the country was marked as arable or sterile, the facility of
traveling and the practicability of routes noted, the grand features
of nature described and some represented in drawings, military
positions indicated, and a large contribution to geology and botany
was made in varieties of plants, flowers, shrubs, trees and grasses,
and rocks and earths, which were enumerated." The second expedition
of May, 1843, was upon a larger scale, and it was not completed until
the month of July, 1844. He was directed to extend his survey across
the continent, on the line of travel between the State of Missouri and
the tide-water region of the Columbia.
In its execution, much more ground was covered than had been
contemplated in the order. Fremont was the first person that visited
the basin of the Great Salt Lake who was able to furnish a scientific
and accurate description of the region. Von Humboldt, in his work
entitled "Aspects of Nature" (pp. 32-34) has given a summary of the
results reached by Fremont in his first and second expeditions, as
follows:
"Fremont's map and geographical researches embrace the immense tract
of land extending from the confluence of the Kansas River with the
Missouri to the cataracts of the Columbia, and the missions of Santa
Barbara and the Pueblo de los Angeles in New California, presenting a
space amounting to 28 degrees of longitude (about 1,300 miles) between
the 34th and 35th parallels of north latitude. Four hundred points
have been hypsometrically determined by barometrical measurements, and
for the most part astronomically; so that it has been rendered possible
to delineate the profile above the sea's level of a tract of land
measuring 3,600 miles, with all its inflections, extending from the
north of Kansas to Fort Vancouver and to the coasts of the South Sea
(almost 720 miles more than the distance from Madrid to Tobolsk). As
I believe I was the first who attempted to represent, in geognostic
profile, the configuration of Mexico, and the Cordilleras of South
America,--for the half-perspective projections of the Siberian
traveler, the Abbe Chappe* were based upon mere, and for the most part
on very inaccurate, estimates of the falls of rivers,--it has afforded
me special satisfaction to there find the graphical method of
representing the earth's configuration in a vertical direction, that
is, the elevation of a solid over fluid parts, achieved on so vast a
scale. In the mean latitude of 37 degrees to 43 degrees, the Rocky
Mountains present, besides the great snow-crowned summits, whose height
may be compared to that of the Peak of Teneriffe, elevated plateaux of
an extent scarcely to be met with in any other part of the world, and
whose breadth from east to west is almost twice that of the Mexican
highlands. From the range of mountains which being a little westward
of Fort Laramie, to the farther side of the Wasatch Mountains, the
elevation of the soil is uninterruptedly maintained from 5,000 to
upwards of 7,000 feet above the sea level; nay, this elevated portion
occupies the whole space between the true Rocky Mountains and the
Californian snowy coast range from 34 degrees to 45 degrees north
latitude. This district, which is a kind of broad longitudinal valley,
like that of Lake Titicaca, has been named the _Great Basin_ by Joseph
Walker and Captain Fremont, travelers well acquainted with those
western regions. It is a _terra incognita_ of at least 128,000 English
square miles, almost uninhabited, and full of salt lakes, the largest
of which is 3,940 Parisian (or 4,200 English) feet above the level of
the sea, and is connected with the narrow Lake Utah,** into which the
'Rock River' (_Timpan Ogo_ in the Utah language) pours its copious
stream."
Fremont's third expedition was commenced August 16, 1845, under
instructions to explore the interior of the region known as the Great
Basin, and the maritime ports of Oregon and California. The first
important incident of that expedition was the message of General
Castro, ordering Fremont to leave the Territory. This was in the
month of March, 1846. At the moment, Fremont refused to obey the
order, and proceeded to fortify his camp, where he raised the United
State flag, and remained for about three days. On further
consideration, however, he left his camp and proceeded north towards
Oregon. In the early part of the month of May he was overtaken by a
messenger named Neal, who informed him that Lieutenant Gillespie, an
agent of the Government at Washington, was on his way, charged with
the delivery of letters, and with verbal instructions from the
authorities. Upon receipt of this information, Fremont changed his
course, and on the second day met Gillespie, who brought only a letter
of introduction from the Secretary of State, Mr. Buchanan, with letters
and papers from Senator Benton. From Gillespie he learned that it was
the purpose of the authorities to ascertain the disposition of the
inhabitants of California, to conciliate their feelings in favor of
the United States, and to counteract as far as possible any designs of
the British Government upon that Territory. Fremont made his way to
the settled parts of California, near Monterey, where he found
Commodore Sloat in command of a United States fleet. In co-operation
with him and largely through Fremont's agency, the Mexican authorities
were dispersed, the flag of the United States was raised at Monterey
and other points, and all was accomplished before information was
received of the existence of war between the United States and Mexico.
These proceedings were justified by the Government of the United
States. In the month of December following, Brigadier-General S. W.
Kearny arrived in the Territory, and ultimately there was a conflict
between him and Commodore Stockton, who had succeeded Commodore Sloat,
as to the command of the forces in California. Until the arrival of
Kearny, Fremont had been acting under the orders of Commodore
Stockton, had raised troops, and had received from him the appointment
of Governor of the Territory. General Kearny, in asserting his
authority as commander-in-chief, ordered Fremont to raise troops and
submit himself to his orders. This Fremont declined to do, giving as
his reason that he had acted under Commodore Stockton, that it was
their duty to adjust their differences, and that until they had done
so, he should act under the orders of Commodore Stockton. This course
on his part led to his arrest while on his way to Washington, and his
trial by a court martial upon three charges: "1st, mutiny; 2nd,
disobedience of orders; and 3d, conduct prejudicial to good order and
discipline." On these charges he was convicted, and sentenced by the
court martial to be dismissed from the service. Six of the officers
who were of the court recommended him to the clemency of the President.
The President disapproved of the findings of the court as to the charge
of mutiny, but expressed the opinion that the second and third charges
were sustained by the proofs; but that, in consideration of the
valuable services of Lieutenant Colonel Fremont, the penalty of
dismissal from the service was remitted. When the findings of the
court were announced, and the action of the President was made known to
Fremont, he wrote a letter to the Adjutant-General resigning his
commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Army, and giving as a reason
that he could not, by accepting the clemency of the President, admit
the justice of the sentence.
It is not easy, from a legal point of view, to justify the action of
the President. If the conduct of Fremont in refusing to recognize the
authority of General Kearny was an offence, it must have rested upon
the fact that Kearny exhibited to him evidence which should have
satisfied a reasonable person that he had authority from the President
to take command of the military forces in California; and if such
authority was exhibited to Fremont and he refused obedience, his
refusal constituted the crime of mutiny. The other offences charged
against Fremont would have followed as a matter of course; but in the
absence of proof that he was guilty of mutiny, there was no evidence
whatever on which the minor charges could be sustained. Thus ended
Fremont's military services and his career as an explorer when he was
less than thirty-four years of age.
Fremont's subsequent career may be considered under three heads.
First, in business affairs, in which, apparently, he was unsuccessful.
Next, he was the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office
of President of the United States. His acceptance of the nomination,
and his letters and statements touching the policy and purposes of the
new organization were not merely formal, but they were pronounced
declarations in favor of the movement, with clear expressions in
harmony with the object of the party, which was the prevention of the
extension of slavery in the Territories. Although a Southern man by
birth his devotion to the freedom of the Territories was as ardent as
that of Lincoln, or any of the other leaders of the time. Finally, in
the Civil War, he made a tender of his services to the Government, and
as Major-General, and in command of the forces in the Department of
Missouri, he issued a proclamation of emancipation of the slaves within
his jurisdiction. This proclamation was countermanded by the
President, and for the sufficient reason that he reserved to himself
the absolute control of the question of the abolition of slavery in the
seceding States and within the lines of our armies. It cannot be said
that Fremont's military career was marked by any signal successes, but
there can be no doubt of his ardent devotion to the cause of his country.
[* Chappe d'Auteroche, "Voyage en Sibirie," fait en 1761, 4 vols.,
4th ed., Paris, 1768.
** Fremont "Report of the Exploring Expedition," pp. 154 and 273-276.]
XXVII
ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES
Before the work at Cairo was finished I received a message from Mr.
Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, asking me to come to Washington and
take charge of the Internal Revenue Office, or rather, to organize it
under a statute then recently passed, but which I had not seen. After
a conversation with Mr. Dana, who advised me to accept the place, I
returned to Washington, where I arrived July 16, 1862. After an
interview with Mr. Chase I took the oath of office before Mr. Justice
Wayne of the Supreme Court. He was then aged and that fact may have
deterred him from following the example of his younger associate,
Justice Campbell, who resigned his office, and joined in the work of
secession. Judge Wayne was disposed to conversation, but he made no
allusion to the war and the issues involved.
I was assigned to a small room on the first floor of the Treasury
building, on the right of the lower door fronting on Pennsylvania
Avenue. First, I read the statute and formed for myself an idea of
the process by which the machine was to be set in motion. The statute
was a remarkable exhibition of legislative wisdom under the
circumstances, but it was incomplete in parts rather than imperfect in
plan. In the course of two or three days Mr. Chase assigned to me
three clerks from other offices in the Treasury, and all of them were
very competent assistants--Mr. Estes, Mr. George Parnell, and Mr. A. B.
Johnson. The order of assignment I do not recall. Mr. Estes went to
New York in a few months, where he engaged in business. Mr. Parnell
remained in the department many years and until his death. Mr. Johnson
was subsequently transferred to the Lighthouse Board, of which he is
the chief clerk.
We first considered what blanks would be needed to enable assessors
and collectors to perform their duties and make proper records and
returns. Then we devised the books for the local offices, and for the
offices in Washington. There was but one error as tested by experience
in the preparations of the blanks and books, and the forms were
followed in the department, except so far as changes in the law
required alteration. Thus far there has never been a fraud or
defalcation that was attributable to inadequate checks in the system.
While I was at the head of the office, Mr. Chase never required me to
retain a clerk who was incompetent or untrustworthy. There were times,
however, when he looked to appointments with reference to Presidential
preferences, and he always considered himself in the line of succession.
Mr. Chase's mental processes were slow, but time being given, he had
the capacity to form sound opinions. Not infrequently, when I called
at his office for conference, he would say: "My mind is preoccupied--
you must either decide for yourself, or call again." As a result, he
never gave an opinion or tendered any advice in relation to the
business of the Internal Revenue Office while I was at the head of it.
Mr. Chase had only a limited knowledge of the business of the
department. Indeed, only a very extraordinary man could have
administered the business of the department systematically, with a
daily or frequent knowledge of the doings of the many heads of bureaus
and divisions, and at the same time have matured and put into
operation, the financial measures which were required by the exigencies
of the war.
Mr. Chase's three great measures were the Abolition of State Banks
and the substitution of the National Banking System, the issue of the
United States legal tender notes, and the issue of the Five-Twenty
Bonds. In combination, as a financial system, they enabled the country
to carry a debt of three thousand million dollars, and it is probable
that a debt of six thousand million would not have paralyzed the
public credit. It is an instance of the frailty of human nature, when
men are in the presence of great temptations, that when he became
Chief Justice of the United States, he announced the opinion that the
issue of United States legal tender notes was unconstitutional. That
measure was the key to his financial system, and a measure
indispensable to the prosecution of the war. It was a forced loan, but
in an exigency a government has as good a right to force capital into
the public service as to force men. If in 1862 Mr. Chase had acted
upon the doctrine set forth in his judicial opinion in the Hepburn
and Griswold case, the probability is that the government of Mr.
Lincoln would have been reduced financially to an equality with the
government of the Confederate States. The ultimate reversal of that
opinion is the most important act of the Supreme Court. It gives to
the political department of the Government, the power to convert all
the resources of the country into the means of defence in time of war,
foreign or domestic.
While I held the office of commissioner of internal revenue, I had
occasion to consult Mr. Bates, the Attorney-General. He was a kind
hearted gentleman, but lacking in vigor and official independence.
There was no provision in the statute for a cashier. The law
contemplated that the money would be paid to the commissioner. As it
was impossible for me to perform that duty personally, I asked Mr.
Chase for authority to appoint Mr. Marshall Conant, who had been and
perhaps then was principal of the Normal School, at Bridgewater, Mass.,
a clerk in the office, and assign him to duty as cashier. He was
appointed to a twelve hundred dollar clerkship, from which he was
advanced to fourteen and then to sixteen hundred dollars. From
September 1, 1862, to March 3, 1863, he collected and accounted for
about thirty-seven million dollars, without any other security than his
own good name, and all for a compensation of about eight hundred
dollars. I urged Congress to make some adequate compensation, but the
request was neglected. When I was in the Senate, I renewed the effort
in behalf of his widow, but the attempt was a failure.
The organization of the office was effected by systematic processes.
From manufacturers, from assessors and collectors, and from other
interested parties numerous inquiries came to the office. The letters
containing these inquiries were thrown into a basket, and reserved for
the evening sessions, at which the heads of divisions--as divisions were
created--were required to attend. These letters were read at the
conferences, and when a conclusion was reached, the letter containing
the inquiry was put aside for answer. The other letters were held for
further consideration. All unanswered letters were read and considered
every evening. Letters often remained unanswered for days, and perhaps
for weeks, but at length the answer would be reached. By this process
the decisions were rendered harmonious. I had the aid of two short-
hand writers, and between 8:30 and 10 A. M., I was able usually to
dictate the answers and in sufficient quantity to occupy the short-hand
writers till 3 o'clock P. M., when the answers were submitted to me.
These I read, corrected and signed. They were then referred to the
respective divisions for future guidance. Thereafter all inquiries
which had been so answered, were treated as routine business, and the
letters in reply were signed without inquiry by clerks or by myself.
Thus it happened that we were not often compelled to reverse our
rulings, and generally they were sustained by the courts.
Mr. S. M. Clark, then superintendent of the Bureau of Printing, was
greatly disappointed when I decided to reject all his designs for
stamps, and required him to introduce the likeness of Washington after
Stuart into each stamp. As far as I know, the internal revenue stamps
were never approved or criticized by the critics nor by the public.
After advertisement a contract was made with Messrs. Butler and
Carpenter, of Philadelphia, to furnish the stamps of all sizes, and
to meet the expense of the engraving, at the rate of thirteen cents
per thousand. In the year 1873 I received from Mr. Carpenter an album
which contained proof specimens of every internal revenue adhesive
stamp, public and private, engraved and printed, previous to March,
1873. This volume may contain the only complete collection of stamps
issued from the Internal Revenue Office previous to that year.
When we were about to make appointments of assessors, and of collectors
of internal revenue, Mr. Thurlow Weed called at the office, and said
that if I would allow him to see the New York papers he would give me
his opinion of the qualifications of the candidates, and any facts
within his knowledge. This he did, and with entire fairness, as I
now believe. He distinguished between the Seward men and the opponents
of Seward, treating their merits and weaknesses without prejudice or
feeling. Again, when the collectors' bonds had been filed, he examined
them, and under his advice, the principals, in several cases, were
required to add to the strength of the security. Mr. Chase took no
part in the appointment of collectors and assessors, beyond the
designation of two collectors, one in Ohio, and one in Massachusetts,
with whom he was acquainted. Mr. Lincoln also designated two, one in
Illinois and one in California, and for the same reason. Of these,
three proved unworthy. They may have assumed upon the way of their
appointment, as security against discipline or removal. The rest were
appointed upon written recommendations, and for the most part the
duties were well performed to the end of their terms, and some of them
held their places for more than twenty years. The appointments were
made in August and September when visits to Washington were not
agreeable. In a number of recommendations for a candidate, if he is
not entirely worthy, some of the letters of commendation will indicate
weakness. The whole ground will not be covered, or there will be
qualifications. A candidate so weakened should always be passed by.
Letters are the safest basis of action in appointments to office.
Personal appeals are made most usually by interested parties.
At the time of the disasters to Pope and McClellan, Mr. Chase was
demoralized completely. He said to me:
"We have only to wait for the end."
He took me to the President, and said that he could take no part in
the appointments. In that period Mr. Chase was very bitter in his
criticisms of the President. He thought him very slow in regard to
emancipation. Of this opinion there was a formidable knot around
Washington, Mr. Chase and Mr. Sumner being at their head. Indeed,
their opinion in that particular was shared by many, myself among them,
but I never lost confidence in the purposes of Mr. Lincoln, and I well
knew that the way of safety was to maintain the closest relations with
him. No one who knew him had any ground to doubt his good intentions.
The truth was, that Mr. Chase was a candidate for the Presidency
whenever he had the courage to believe in the preservation of the
Government.
From July to the end of December, 1862, I went to the office before
breakfast, then during the day, and then again in the evening. My only
exercise was a ride on horseback after office hours and before dinner.
When Pope's army was driven within the entrenchments of Washington,
General Banks was made military commander of the district. I was then
living in a house at the corner of G and Twenty-first Streets, which my
friend Mr. Hooper tendered me during the recess of Congress upon the
condition that I would retain, pay and maintain his servants. Among
them was his cook, Monaky, who had been cook for Mr. Webster. When
Fletcher Webster was killed, she was in great grief. I invited General
Banks to make his quarters with me, and I had thus some means of
knowing the condition of affairs in the army and around the district.
While he was with me, we called upon General Hooker at the asylum, the
Insane Hospital, on the east side of the east branch of the Potomac
River, to which place he had been sent to be treated for a wound in his
leg, which he had received at the Battle of Antietam. He was violent
in his denunciation of McClellan for not using his entire force, and
for not following the enemy--claiming that the whole body might have
been destroyed. Barring his violence of language, and the impropriety
of criticising his commander, there can be no doubt of the justice of
what he said. McClellan retained upon the left bank of the Antietam,
a body of men whose participation in the battle at the opportune moment
would have changed a qualified victory into a rout of the enemy. Lee
was saved at Antietam and at Gettysburg by the incompetency of
McClellan and Meade.
The movements by Lee in crossing the Potomac in 1862 and again in 1863
were most unfortunate for the Confederacy, and with Grant, or Sherman,
or Sheridan, or Logan in command of our forces, must have resulted
disastrously. It was the necessity of the situation that we were
compelled to go to Lee, wherever he might choose to place himself.
When he assumed the offensive, and abandoned his base, he exchanged
positions, and greatly to his disadvantage. That he escaped
destruction was due to his good fortune and to our incompetency and
not to his own merit as commander.
The Sunday morning after Pope's defeat, David Dudley Field called at
my office at the Treasury, and after some conversation upon the
condition of affairs, he said he wished to see the President. I aided
him in securing an interview. What was the object of this interview
with the President I cannot say, but his conversation led my mind to
the conclusion that he thought himself qualified for the command of
the army.
The events of that day made a lasting impression upon my mind. The
city was filled with troops, the hospitals, churches and other
buildings were crowded with the wounded; the streets were stuffed with
ambulances, baggage wagons, artillery, and material of war. The hills
were dotted with tents, and the officers and men were discontented and
almost in a state of mutiny. The demand for the restoration of
McClellan was almost universal. There can be no doubt that he was then
adored by the troops. In six months that feeling had given place to a
feeling of indifference or positive distrust as to his capacity of
integrity of purpose.
During the preceding week, I had made many attempts to secure an
interview with the President in regard to the appointment of collectors
and assessors, as they were to commence their duties under the law
September 1. Finally he gave me Sunday at 11 o'clock. He canvassed
the papers and considered the merits of the candidates with as much
coolness and care apparently, as he would have exhibited in a condition
of profound peace. When the business was ended, he asked me what I
thought about the command of the army. I said unhesitatingly that the
restoration of McClellan seemed the only safe policy. I had seen and
heard so much, that I was apprehensive of serious trouble in the army
if he should again be superseded. I then said that emancipation
seemed the only way out of our troubles. He said in reply:
"Must we not wait for something that looks like a victory? Would not
a proclamation now appear as _brutum fulmen?"_--the only Latin I ever
heard from the President.
In Gorham's Life of Stanton, it appears that the Cabinet advised
against the restoration of McClellan, and that a vigorous protest was
signed by three members, which, however, was not presented.
During the autumn and winter of 1862-3, I was in the habit of calling
at the War Office for news, when I left the Treasury--usually between
nine and eleven o'clock. Not infrequently I met Mr. Lincoln on the
way or at the department. When the weather was cold he wore a gray
shawl, muffled closely around his neck and shoulders. There was great
anxiety for General Grant in 1863, when he was engaged in the
movement across the Mississippi. At that time I went to the War Office
daily. One evening I met the President in front of the Executive
Mansion, on his way back from the War Department. I said:
"Any news, Mr. President?"
"Come in and I will tell you!"
I knew from the tones of his voice that he had good news. He read the
dispatch, and then by the maps followed the course that Grant had
taken. The news he had received was from Grant himself. From the 4th
of March, 1861, I had not seen Mr. Lincoln as cheerful as he was when
he read the dispatch, and traced the campaign on the map. He felt,
evidently, that the end was approaching--although it was nearly two
years away.
As I had been elected to the House of Representatives in November,
1862, I resigned my office of commissioner of internal revenue March
3, 1863. Mr. Chase was very unwilling to have me leave, and he
endeavored to satisfy me that there was neither illegality nor
impropriety in my continuing until the meeting of Congress. I did not
agree to his view of the law, and moreover, Congress had so changed the
law that the commissioner was required to give bonds. In presence of
that requirement I should have left the place. By the same act a
cashier was authorized, and thus it happened that when the commissioner
was actually in receipt of the moneys the Government had no security
and yet security was required when he was deprived of the power to
touch one cent of the receipts. I remained at Washington from March 3
to August, engaged in the preparation of a work upon the Revenue
System. This volume contains the rulings and decisions by me most of
which have been sustained by the courts or justified by experience.*
My successor was Joseph J. Lewis, a country lawyer from Pennsylvania.
He had written a biography of Mr. Lincoln, and he had been the
President's choice at the outset. When I resigned, the President had
his way. Whether Mr. Chase presented any other person I cannot say.
Mr. Lewis had no idea of the work of administration. When questions
were submitted to the office, he proceeded to prepare an answer which
he wrote with a quill pen in his own hand. At the beginning he sent
off his answers without the knowledge of the chiefs of division, and in
some instances a newspaper report was the first information that the
subordinates obtained that a decision had been made. In some instances
he passed upon old questions, without any inquiry or examination, until
it was discovered that the head of a division was ruling one way and
Mr. Lewis was ruling another way at the same time.
When I left the office in March, 1863, Mr. Chase said to me that it
exceeded in magnitude the entire Treasury Department, March 1861. It
was in fact the largest Government department ever organized in
historical times, and it was organized without a precedent. By its
machinery, it became finally so vast, that three hundred and fifty
million dollars were assessed and collected in a single year. In the
thirty-eight years of its existence, the gross collections have
amounted to $5,524,363,255.89. It has existed eight and thirty years
with no other changes than such as have been required by the change
of laws. The frame work, including the system of bookkeeping with its
checks and tests, remains.
When I entered upon the work in July, I examined the records of the
Excise Bureau established during the War of 1812, but they furnished
no aid whatever in the execution of the work that was before me. I had
neither time nor opportunity to study the excise system of Great
Britain; and hence the organization of the system of the United States
was based upon, and grew out of, the requirements of the law. I do not
deem this a misfortune. The public anxiety in regard to the
construction of the law induced a large amount of correspondence with
persons in various parts of the country, and in the month of October
the letters sent numbered occasionally eight hundred per day. Many of
these letters were formal, and others were repetitions of those
previously given; but each day compelled attention to a large number
of new questions.
The practice of our office in the construction of the law was
controlled by a few leading principles.
First: to levy a tax in those cases only which were clearly provided
for by the statute and, consequently, whenever a reasonable doubt
existed, the decision was against the Government and in favor of the
contestant.
Second: In deciding whether an article was or was not a manufacture,
it was the practice to ascertain how it was regarded by business men at
the time the excise law was passed; in all cases abstaining from
inquiry as to the mode of preparation, or the nature or extent of the
change produced. If the article in question was regarded by the makers
and by business men as an article of commerce, and it was produced by
hand or machinery, it was the practice to treat it as a manufacture
under the law, unless specially exempt.
Third: Upon articles manufactured and removed for consumption by the
manufacturer, the tax was assessed precisely as it would have been
assessed if the articles had been removed for sale.
Fourth: In considering the law relating to the use of stamps, it was
the rule of the office to give that signification to the name used in
the statute descriptive of various instruments subject to stamp tax,
which was ordinarily given to such descriptive terms by business and
professional men. In the year 1901 it may be assumed that the
Internal Revenue Office will exist while the Government shall exist,
although it came into being as a war measure and as a temporary policy.
[* In the early sixties I was associated in the profession with a man
eight years my junior, John Quincy Adams Griffin. He was a man of
infinite jest, but lacking in fancy. His letters and other writings
would make a volume of no mean quality. His death came too early for
an extended and lasting reputation. In his sallies he did not spare
his friends, and he wounded his opponents. On one occasion as we were
upon the street I was induced to buy a paper by a boy's cry "Great
battle!" When I opened the paper the sheet was a blank. I said:
"What do you suppose will become of that wretch?"
Alluding to the fact that I was about forty years of age when I was
admitted to the bar, Griffin said:
"I think he will study law and enter the profession rather late in
life."
His last letter to me was as solemn as death itself, but he could not
omit an instance of his habit:
"The doctors tell me that I have water around my heart, but I know it
isn't so, for I have drank nothing but beer for six months."
This paragraph was commenced for the purpose of citing another instance
of his quality. In our office was a volume of my treatise on the
Excise and Internal Revenue Laws of the United States. Many years
after Griffin's death I found this entry on the fly-leaf of the volume:
"DEDICATION
"To the memory of Caesar Augustus in whose reign there went forth the
decree that all the world should be taxed, this book is respectfully
dedicated by the AUTHOR."]