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Jeremiah S. Black. Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War, of Virginia, and Mr. Thompson, who were said to have had everything their own way, sprang fiercely to their feet at the decisive action on the part of Mr. Stanton.

Blaine's Eulogy.

"Persecution and obloquy have followed him into the grave, but an impartial verdict must be that he was inspired with the devotion of a martyr, and that he wore his life out in a service of priceless value to all the generations of his countrymen."-2 Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, p. 564.

Bantering With Judge B. R. Curtis.

"It is said that Stanton, after he was out of office, stepped up to Judge B. R. Curtis, who had opposed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, extended his hand and said: 'Judge, now that I have ceased imprisoning my fellow-citizens without due process of law, will you shake hands with me? Curtis did not like bantering on such a subject, but shook hands with him."-Life and Writings of B. R. Curtis, Vol. 1, p. 366.

Lincoln Would Not Accept His Resignation.

"On the first news of the surrender of Lee, Secretary Stanton placed his resignation in the hands of Mr. Lincoln. This resignation the personal appeal of

his chief, declaring to him, with his arms about his neck, 'Stanton it is not for you to say when you will no longer be needed here,' had forced him to recall." -Henry L. Dawes, "Recollections of Stanton under Johnson," October, 1894, Atlantic Monthly.

Lincoln's Reliance Upon Stanton.

President Lincoln acknowledged that it was his habit never to take an important step without consulting Mr. Stanton.

Stanton Dictated the Terms of Peace in 1865.

"Just before Lincoln's inauguration, March 3rd, 1865, a dispatch arrived from Grant, suggesting that he be permitted to make terms with Lee, who had asked for an interview to negotiate peace. Mr. Lincoln was greatly inclined to permit his General-inChief to effect this negotiation. Stanton, who was present, and who had kept silence while the discussion was going on, at length spoke out sternly: 'Mr. President, to-morrow is inauguration day. If you are not to be the President of an obedient and united people you had better not be inaugurated. Your work is already done, if any other authority than yours is for one moment to be recognized, or any terms made that do not signify that you are the supreme head of the Nation. If generals in the field are to negotiate peace, or any other chief magistrate is to be acknowledged on this continent, then you are not needed, and you had better not take the oath of office.' 'Stanton,

you are right,' said the President, his whole tone changing, 'let me have a pen.' And Mr. Lincoln at once wrote as follows to General Grant for the Secretary of War to sign: "The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with General Lee unless it be for the capitulation of Lee's army, or some minor or purely military matter. He instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conference or convention. In the meantime you are to press to the utmost your military advantages."-2 Nat'l Cyclo. of American Biography, p. 84, art. Stanton.

"Lincoln Is a Dd Fool" Incident.

"A committee of Western men, headed by Mr. Lovejoy, procured from President Lincoln an important order looking to the exchange of Eastern and Western soldiers, with a view to more effective work. Repairing to the office of the Secretary, Mr. Lovejoy explained the scheme, as he had done before to the President, but he was met by a flat refusal.

""But we have the President's order, sir,' said Lovejoy.

"Did Lincoln give you an order of that kind?” said Stanton.

tary.

""He did, sir.'

""Then he is a dd fool,' said the irate Secre

"Do you mean to say the President is a dd fool?' asked Lovejoy, in amazement.

"Yes, sir, if he gave you such an order as that.'

"The bewildered Congressman from Illinois betook himself at once to the President, and related the result of his conference.

"Did Stanton say I was a dd fool?' asked Lincoln, at the close of the recital.

"He did sir; and repeated it.'

"After a moment's pause, and looking up, the President said: 'If he said I was a dd fool, then I must be one, for he is nearly always right, and generally says what he means. I will step over and see him.'"-George B. Julian in Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, p. 56.

Called Lincoln "a Low, Cunning Clown."

"Stanton, before Lincoln was elected President, indulged in tirades against him, saying on one occasion, he 'had met him at the bar and found him a low, cunning clown.”—Benjamin Perley Poore, Reminiscences of Lincoln, p. 223.

Lincoln on Stanton's Impulsiveness.

"The gentlemen proceeding to discuss Mr. Stanton's impulsiveness, Mr. Lincoln said: 'Well, we may have to treat him as they are sometimes obliged to treat a Methodist minister I know of out West. He gets wrought up to so high a pitch of excitement in his prayers and exhortations that they are obliged

to put bricks into his pockets to keep him down. We may be obliged to serve Stanton the same way, but I guess we'll let him jump awhile first.'"-J. G. Holland's Life of Lincoln, p. 357.

The Debt This Country Owes Stanton,

"In 1862 the country was in peril from which it could only be extricated by a Secretary of War with the fierce determination and patriotism of Edwin M. Stanton. Mr. Lincoln knew his man, and while members of his Cabinet were hesitating, doubting, fearing, he made Mr. Stanton Secretary of War, and Mr. Stanton made himself the greatest war minister of the century. The country is beginning to find out, and another generation which is able to read history without prejudice, will know how great a debt the country owes to Edwin M. Stanton."-L. E. Chittenden, June, 1894, Green Bag, p. 268.

Appeared as Colleague With Lincoln in a Lawsuit.

"Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Stanton and George Harding were associated as counsel in a celebrated reaper patent case (McCormick v. Manney, 6 McLean, 539), which was tried in Cincinnati before the United States Circuit Court, though they had not met prior to the trial. It is related, on the one hand, that Lincoln was senior counsel, and that when the hearing came on, Stanton, undervaluing Lincoln's character and ability, with unprofessional assurance, grasped the role of making the arguments on the law points,

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