YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gen. John McDonald. HEW, REVISED and ENLARGED EDITIOH. SECRETS OF THE Great Whiskey Ring; — AND — EIGHTEEN MONTHS IN THE PENITENTIARY. CONTAINING A COMPLETE EXPOSURE OF THE ILLICIT WHIS- KE Y ERA UDS C ULMINA TING IN 1875, WITH jDOcm&ttTsrrrjLtts: proofs, COMPRISING FAC-SIMILES OF CONFIDENTIAL LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS DIRECTING THE MANAGEMENT OF THE RING; TO WHICH IS ADDED THE AUTHOR'S REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES WHILE A CON VICT IN THE MISSOURI PENITENTIARY, AT JEFFERSON CITY. By Gen. John McDonald, Formerly Supervisor ef Internal Revenue for the District comprising Mis souri, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Indian Ttrritory and New Mexico. ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND ENGRAVINGS. ST. LOOTS, mo.: W. S. BRYAN, Publisher, 6o» N. Fourth Street, *88q, Copyrighted, 1880, by JOHN McDONALD. Translation and all other rights referred. PREFACE Nearly five years have elapsed since my conviction as a member of the Great Whiskey Ring of 1815, or, more prop erly, of the Ring the exposure of which occurred during that year. Five years is but a short while to those whose current of life flows with the melody of prosperity and contentment, but to him whose memory is seared by the basest ingratitude man ever showed to man ; whose sacrifices for those in power above hjm have ruined a life, in the debris of which his eyes can never unbend their fixed gaze at his own bitter humility, it is ages. In this introduction to my thorough exposure of the whis key frauds culminating in 1875, it is my desire to qualify a most unenviable position ; one which I have no disposition to shrink from, however false appearing those sleuth hounds fresh from a gluttonous feast of public blood ; those abusers. of trust who cry "thief" loudest in order to deflect the gaze of justice from their own villanies, seek to make it. I do not approach the bar of public opinion at this day, laying bare the hideous deformities of recreart high -place officials, for the purpose of vindicating myself. Far from it. Denying nor affirming nothing as to my own guilt, the law has spent its force upon me ; I have paid the penalty, and further claims against me no man has ; I am, therefore, entitled to a consid erate hearing in what I have to say. Thoroughly appreciating how prone the public will be to throw discredit upon my statements, I have determined to omit much that is unsupported by written or other eorrobora- IV tive evidence, and confine myself to charges which I can prove by overwhelming testimony. Every step, therefore, is cau tiously made, and if there is a singe libel contained in this book I am amenable to the law, the burden of which few men have felt more heavily. Each declaration is made as if I were under oath, and in order that the true story shall appear un abridged I have dealt liberally only with the facts in which I have been as equally unsparing of myself as of all others im plicated with me. During the rigid investigation of the U. S. Grand Jury, when nearly every man in the nation believed that many of the high est officials in Washington were beneficiaries of the whiskey fund, I was asked a thousand times to disclose the secrets I was believed to possess. Indeed, I was promised immunity from punishment if I would become an informer ; but those searets were not revealed, for reasons easily understood : I was an appointee of President Grant, and as his friend and the recipient of his favors, certain obligations were created which I was not forgetful to regard. Gen. Babcock was the Presi dent's private secretary, and there will be few to contradict me when I say that he was, in a great measure, the President's chief adviser, especially in cases were his private matters were concerned. I regarded Babcock's instructions as those ema nating from the highest authority, and however my obedience to their orders may be considered, they were the excuse for my actions. Having become identified with the purposes of my superiors, sharing their benefits and entrusted with their confidence, when disclosures were made and the hour of sac rifice was at hand, I could not assume the character of a base ingrate to escape a punishment which, missing me, would in volve the entire nation in the deepest disgrace. If I were convicted I knew that the tenure of my punishment would be limited to the disposition of him in whose hands the pardon ing power was vested ; having received his promise of an immediate pardon I put on the sackcloth of disgrace and, from the high position I had so many years maintained, I descended to the most humiliating, stigmatical depths— a fel on's cell. For seventeen months I wore the garb of infamy, that leprous, foul, polluted character which gnaws at sensitive nature "like a worm in the bud." I not only suffered this restraint of liberty with its unending night-mare of moral death, but lived on to see the honest accumulations of many years of patient labor wasted because I could not protect it, and from an ample fortune upon my entrance into political life I was reduced to penury when released. Those in power forgot me and their promises ; they feared to issue me an im mediate pardon because of the pressure of public opinion, which might become intensified against them at such a bold interference to defeat the sentence of the court, and I was therefore permitted to languish until my forbearance would endure no more ; then I demanded my pardon, under threats of exposure if it were not immediately granted, and I was re leased at once. To those who will cavil at my course, the question will be suggested, " Why are these disclosures made now, when the time for their effective use, in the courts, has passed :" Grant's re-nomination would have afforded a more plausible pretext for the publication of these disclosures — viewed from a strictly partisan standpoint, and unfortunately a great many persons can discover no merit in anything which may be devoid of political complexion. The purpose of this publication now has a broader base to rest upon than mere personal vindictiveness or political influence. It is to expose the villainies of an administration the very mention of which should excite a righteous indignation and befoul the atmosphere; but though the crimes of Marius, who sold offices in the public places of Rome, were as virtues, compared with many of the corrupt acts of Grant's administration, yet there is a very large per centage of American citizens whose eyes cannot penetrate beyond the military glory with which Grant is clothed; who parade his statesmanship and would reward his crimes with an honor no other American ever held or sought. It is with an VI earnest and will considered belief that Gen. Grant will be a disturbing factor in the politics and purity of the nation so long as his infamies remain hidden, which furnishes one of the reasons for this exposure, and with this contribution to the literature of uncovered venality goes forth the hope that the supporters of the Grant administration will find the proofs herein which will cause the blush of shame to mantle their cheeks for having lent their aid to perpetuate infamies of such magnitude as were constantly developing while Gen. Grant was our Chief Magistrate, who, as will be conclusively shown, was an active participant in the frauds laid bare in this work. I have no affiliation with the Democratic party further than my desire to see the return of honest principles, and above all, " honest acts," which will reclaim the nation from the disgrace visited upon it by corrupt officials, among which class the public will include john Mcdonald, Formerly Supervisor of Internal Revenue for the district embracing Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Indian Territory and New Mexico consTTiEnsrTs CHAPTER I. Purposes of the Whiskey Ring — How I Became Supervisor — My Loss of $300,000 in the Mast Hope Disaster— How I Caught Ford — McKee's Proposal to Form a Ring — The Editorial that Moved Grant^— Magrue's Entrance — Joyce's First Letter — How the Democrat was Won Over — Bittinger and his Paper — Grosvenor's Letter — Grant's Third Term Aspirations — Morton's Needs — A Consolidation of Dis tricts — Ford and McKee meet Grant and Talk with Him Freely — E. B. Grimes — Douglass, the Commissioner — The Woodward Correspondence — Fighting Carl Schurz. 17 CHAPTER II. Reducing the Number of Supervisors — My Appointment as One of the Ute Commission — The Demand for my Re-ap pointment as Supervisor — Chester H. Krum's Endorse ment — President Grant's Endorsement:— Proofs of Bab- cock's Connection with the Ring — My Re-appointment as Supervisor — Casey, the President's Brother-in-Law — Ford's Death — Appointment of Maguire as Collector — Babcock's Instrumentality — Telegrams from Grant and Babcock — Visit of Revenue Agents — Brasher Blackmails the Distillers. 71 vm CHAPTER HI. Grant and Babcock Receive My Monthly Reports — We Send Avery $500— Doubts as to Our Security— Joyce goes to Washington— He Talks to Grant, who Assures Him that no Fear of Exposure Need be Apprehended — Joyce's Trip to San Francisco— Before Starting, he Posts the Washington Members — The Ring Stops Operations for a Time — Joyce Returns from the Pacific Coast — He Goes to Washington — Babcock and the Diamond — The President Assures Joyce that the Ring may Renew its Operations with Safety — Avery's Transfer to the Treasury Department — Avery Told to Obtain Information from Grant Respecting Ring Matters — Babcock Warns us, by Telegraph, that a Revenue Agent may Visit St. Louis — Grant and His Party Visit the St. Louis Fair — Grant and Borie Take a Drive — My Gift to the President — How Grant Obtained a Premium — The Press Criticism. 88 CHAPTER TV. Col. Joyce as a Revenue Agent — Babcock and Joyce's Intimacy — Babcock Telegraphs that no Agent has been Sent to St. Louis — My Trip to Washington — How I gave Babcock $5,000 — I Give Grant Receipts for the Buggy and Team — I inform Him of My Gift of $5,000 to Babcock— My Ride with the President — He Promises Me that any Changes or Appointments I Desire will be Granted — The Altitudinal Dispatch — Babcpck's Sylph Dispatch — Louise Hawkins, the Sylph — How Babcock Took Her to His Bosom — An Interview in the Dark — A Remittance to Babcock in a Cigar Box. 104 CHAPTER V. Bristow Decides Upon a Change of Supervisors — How I In fluenced Grant to Countermand the Order — Joyce's Dis patch to Babcock — Joyce's Song, " Mrs. Carney " — Pros- IX peets of a Storm — Babcock's Report of Bristow's Inclina tions — Hogue Blackmails the Distillers Out of $10,000 — Fishback's Visit to Washington — How I was Appealed to by Fishback for a Loan — Babcock Puts a Spy on Fishback — Agent Yaryan Visits St. Louis. 121 CHAPTER VL Taking Soundings Before the Attack — The Ring takes Fright — Seizures at St. Joseph — The Storm Approaching — My Visit to Washington — Interviews with Bristow, Grant and Douglass — My Resignation — I Advise Grant to Burn Evidence Collected — His Proposal to Check Bristow and Suppress Evidence — Bristow and Grant Together — Bris tow is Made Acquainted with Grant's Connection with the Ring — I Dine with Babcock who Assures Me that Bristow Shall Be Dismissed — Grant Declares " that Bristow Must Cease His Efforts to Expose the Ring or Leave the Cabi net — An Open Letter to Bristow — Babcock's Letter of Assurance — Another Letter from Babcock — Our Corres pondence Through Major Grimes. 130 CHAPTER Vn. Why Douglass Played a Double Role — The First Seizures in St. Louis — The Correspondence — Babcock's Letter Informing Me of Officials who Want to "Peach" — Acceptance of My Resignation — Why Grant did Not Dismiss Bristow — Grant Sorely Distressed — Babcock's Letter Inclosing an Anonymous Note — The "Lightning" Dispatch — My In dictment — Assuring Grant and Babcock of My Fidelity — Babcock's Reply — Grimes' Postoffice — Babcock Requests Grimes to See Dyer — Grimes' Serious Aspect — Grimes' Profane Note — His Testimony — Another Letter from Babcock — Babcock's Letter Informing Me Where Some Stolen Evidence May be Purchased — Krum Divides the Whisky Money — Krum's Letter Advising a Conference with Grant — Babcock and Grant Visit Me — A Champagne Dinner— Their Promises and My Pledges of Silence- Grant Humbles Himself— Giving Grant Back-bone— Grant Grieving over Lost Opportunities— Grant's Promise to Pardon Me in Case of Conviction— Preparing for Trial— The District Attorney Promises Me Immunity, if I will Tell What I Know— Beginning of My Trial— General Henderson Promises to Enter a Nolle Pros., if I will Become a Witness for the Government — My Conviction — Why I was Not Pardoned — How I Kept My Promise — Fox, the Grand-Juryman — He Keeps Grant Advised of All the Acts of the Grand-Jury — How Fox was Rewarded for Perjuring Himself — The Grand-Jury Letter — Babcock's Indictment — Joyce's Oration Before Sentence. 165 CHAPTER VIII. Avery's Trial and Conviction — Henderson Charged with At tacking the President — The Power of His Address to the Jury — What he Said— The President Advised of Hen derson's Fearless Denunciation of Thieves, and Peremp torily dismisses him — The Correspondence — Krum Be comes the Medium through which Babcock and I Corres pond — Pierrepont's Circular Letter to Suppress Testimo ny — Krum's Letter. — Congress Rebukes Grant Through Pierrepont — Report of the Judiciary Committee on the Pierrepont Letter — Trial and Conviction of Wm. Mc- Kee — Krum, as Babcock's Attorney, Writes a Note Re questing Information Respecting a Damaging Letter from His Client — Gen. Babcock Buys the Letter from Harda- way — Babcock Placed on Trial — Everest's Testimony — Babcock Buys a Witness from the Post Office — How Ma- gill Perjured Himself — Babcock Admits that he Paid Magill to Give False Testimony — Krum Writes Me for Permission to see the Babcock letters — The Interview in My Cell — The President's Deposition — Comments on the Deposition — How Grant Perjured Himself — Porter, Bab cock's Counsel, Attacks Me — Babcock writes a Letter XI Begging Me Not to Hold Him Accountable— Why I Could Not be Forced to Testify— The Jury Acquit Bab cock — $10,000 Presented to Him at the Conclusion of his Trial — Babcock Calls on Me at My Cell — Begs Me for His Letters — Liberal Offer of Money — Promises to Par don Me — Babcock's Brother Tries to Buy the Letters From My Old Chief Clerk— Upon Refusal to Treat Theatens Him With Personal Injury — Expressions of Belief in Babcock's Guilt by Jurymen — Why He Was Acquitted. 222 CHAPTER IX. Action of Congress on Babcock's Acquittal — Investigations by a Special Committee — Testimony of District Attorney Dyer — of John B. Henderson — of Attorney General Pierrepont— -AH Declare that Grant was Kept Informed of the Secrets of the Grand Jury by Fox — Bell's Testi mony — How He was Hired by Babcock, with Grant's Knowledge, to Steal Evidence — The Belknap Scandal — Babcock's Second Indictment — Babcock Continues to Act as Private Secretary to the President —Sentence of McKee — Avery's Pardon, and How it Was Obtained — Avery's History of the Ring. 287 CHAPTER X. Efforts to Procure My Pardon — Putting the Screws to Grant and Babcock — A Letter from Krum — My Threats to Ex pose Grant — A Letter to the Proctor Knott Committee — Ex- Gov. Fletcher and his policy — Babcock Writes me Through One of His Spies — Gov. ' Fletcher Sees My Threatening Letter in the Hands of Mrs. President Grant — My Pardon is Granted — My Meeting with Babcock on the Fourth of March — Why Joyce Was Not Pardoned by , Grant — My Last Interview With Babcock — Joyce's Let ter — Some Bitter Memories. 316 XH CONCLUSION. Eighteen Months in the Penitentiary— Giving a Full and Graphic Account of the Author's Remarkable Experience while serv ing his time in the Missouri Penitentiary, 347 LIST OF LETTERS. Page. General Grant's Endorsement 75 Sylph Dispatch 114 Letter from Babcock, signed Horace Houghton 160 Letter from O. E. Babcock from Washington 162 Letter from Babcock, signed B. Finch 172 Letter from Babcock, signed H. B. Brown 176 Note from "A Friend Who Knows" 177 Letter from Babcock, signed B. F. Inch 181 Memorandum from Quartermaster Grimes 185 Letter from Grimes, signed "Friend " 187 Letter from O. E. Babcock from Long Branch 189 Letter from O. E. Babcock, signed B. F 193 Letter from Chester H. Krum 197 Letter from Chester H. Krum 233 Letter from Babcock to Chester H. Krum 280 Letter from Chester H. Krum 320 LIST OF PORTRAITS. General John McDonald Facing Title General U. S. Grant Page 97 General O. E. Babcock " 107 Sylph " 117 Ex-Secretary Bristow " 135 General John B. Henderson " 224 JohnA.Joyoe " 318 William McKee " 218 Major Lucien Eaton. " S74 CHAPTEE I. Purposes of the Whiskey Ring — How I Became Supervisor — My Loss of $300,000 in the Mast Hope Disaster— How I Caught Ford — McKee's Proposal to Form a Ring — The Editorial that Moved Grant — Magrue's Entrance — Joyce's First Letter — How the Democrat was Won Over — Bittinger and his Paper — Grosvenor's Letter — Grant's Third Term Aspirations — Morton's Needs — A Consolidation of Dis tricts — Ford and McKee meet Grant and Talk with Him Freely — E. B. Grimes — Douglass, the Commissioner — The Woodward Correspondence — Fighting Carl Schurz. The great whiskey frauds culminating in 1875, are a part of the history of American politics. No ring was ever before formed embracing such a gigan tic scope and including among its chief instigators and membership, such distinguished Government officials. The original intention of the organizers, adopting suggestions from the highest authority in the land, was to make the ring co-extensive with the nation, with headquarters in all the large cities, for the purpose of raising a cP.a.rnpq.ign fVmd with which to advance the interests of President Grant in his aspirations for a second term. So far as my 18 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY BING. personal knowledge extends, the money received from the distillers and rectifiers was used according to the original intention of the members, until Grant's re-election, when, the purposes of the orga nization having been accomplished, but with the management of the colossal fraudulent undertaking thoroughly in hand, it was decided to continue the 1 appropriation of the revenue and to make the mem bers of the ring the beneficiaries of the fund. During congressional and municipal campaigns, however, a part of this fund was always used in the interests of the Eepublican candidates. HOW I BECAME SUPERVISOR. In'the years 1868-69, 1 was engaged in Washing ton City collecting war claims against the Govern ment and buying up Quartermaster's informal vouchers. I conducted this business with much success, but in September of the latter year, being a passenger on the ill-fated train on the Brie Eailroad which burned at Mast Hope, Pa., with such des- destruction to life and property, I lost my trunk containing over $9,000,000 of these claims. My in dividual loss approximated $300,000, to recover which, I went to President Grant for the purpose of obtaining from him a note of introduction to Jim Fisk, then Manager, and Jay Gould, the President , of the Erie Eailroad Co. Grant declined to giye me the note, as did also Gen. Sherman, to whom I made a like request, giving as their reason, that such an exhibition of personal interest in claims of such nature as these represented, would be improper. During my conversation with the President I GEANT DESIRES MY APPOINTMENT. 19 mentioned the fact that several of my friends in St. Louis had requested me to make application for one ' of the Supervisorships, an office created by Con gress, July 20th, 1868/ I did not tell him that I wanted the office, be cause the appointing^power was with the Secretary of the Treasury, but referred to the desire of my friends merely as a casual, social remark. President Grant responded at once, saying : "Well, McDonald, I would like to give you one of those places, and if you will accept, all you will have to do is to return to St. Louis and procure some rec ommendations, make your application and forward your papers." . Having received such a decided and unexpected promise, I begun to think seriously of accepting the position, and returned to St. Louis at once. Direct ly after my return William McKee, of the Missouri Democrat, also suggested to me that an application for Supervisor would certainly be granted. I talked with a few of my friends in St. Louis, concerning recommendations, etc., some of whom interested themselves in -my behalf, and, in a few days, I had prepared a very large list of recommendations, which, together with my application, I carried in person' to President Grant. He examined my pa pers with great care and then had them filed with Commissioner Delano, and on October 5th, 1869, my Commission »fi Knpftrvianr nf Tntfirna,LJ&a.vprmft was issued. A false impression has long prevailed respecting the character of my indorsements, created by news paper assertions that I was opposed by the members 20 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. of the Merchant's Exchange and the best people of St. Louis. In order to disprove this false claim, I herewith copy a few of the great number of my rec ommendations, many of which were unsolicited. St. Louis, August 30, 1869. General U. S. Grant. 'Dear Sir : Colonel John McDonald, of this city, is an appli cant for the office of Supervisor of Internal Revenue. I know him to be man of great energy, a true Republican and a devoted friend of your administration. I believe he will discharge the duties of the office faithfully and honestly, and therefore com mend him to your most favorable consideration. Very respect fully, your obedient servant, E. W. Fox On this letter were the folio wing, endorsements: - I cheerfully join in the above recommendation. Jas. E. Teatman. I have known Major McDonald for several years. He was one of those who promptly responded to the wants of his country, and was active in getting up the 8th Missouri regi ment, one of the fighting regiments of the war, and served in that regiment as Major and was in some of the hottest of the fights. He deserves well of his government. Wm. M. McPherson. General Sherman's Endorsement. Washington, D. C, Sept. 8, 1869. Major McDonald served under my immediate command in 1862-3, with great honor and credit to himself. He is a very active business man of an extensive acquaintance. I am per sonally acquainted with all the parties to this document, and certify them to be of the very best in St. Louis, and they know the matters of which they write. Major McDonald is entitled to the most favorable attention of the departments of the government. W. T. Sherman, General. MY EECOMMENDATIONS. 01 Governor MoClurg Executive Department, | Jefferson City, September 2, 1869. j Hon. Columbus Delano, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Dear Sir: — I have not the pleasure of an intimate acquaint ance with Brevet Brigadier General John McDonald, who desires to be Superintending Inspector of Internal Revenue at St. Louis. He is very strongly endorsed by persons- of very high respectability whom I do know. I doubt not, from such recommendations, he would 'make an efficient public officer and give character to the position. I am very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. M. McClurg. U. S. Senator McDonald. Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 20, 1869. Hon. C. Delano, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Dear Sir: — Gen. John McDonald, lately appointed Super visor of Internal Revenue, and assigned to Arkansas, is here on duty. I am highly gratified with the appointment and assignment, and I have every reason to believe that it will re dound to the interests of the public service. This State needs the watchfulness of a firm, honest and energetic man to look after revenue matters, and I feel assured from the tone of Mc Donald's circular to collectors and assessors that he is the right man and means business. Your friend and obedient servant, A. McDonald, United States Senator Mr. Delano to the President. Treasury Department, Office of Internal Revenue, ) Washington, Sept. 9, 1869. ) Dear Sir: — Gen. John McDonald presents excellent recom mendations for Supervisor of Missouri, Kansas, etc.,rVice Mr. Marr, the incumbentJ He proposes to see you anoTpresent his papers. x Judging from what I know of Mr. McDonald, as well as from his endorsements I presume he will make an efficient and faithful officer. Senator Drake urges strenously 22 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Marr's retention and I dislike, in view of this fact, to make a change without your approbation and advice. I am very sincerely, etc., C. Delano. To President Grant. McKee, Fishback & Co. Office of Missouri Democrat, ) St. Louis, Sept. 5, 1869. j Gen. Grant, President United States, Dear Sir. — Gen. McDonald is an applicant for Supervisor of Internal Revenue for this district. We do not wish to multiply words in his favor. We have known him for years. He was a brave soldier, a true Republican in the day of our trouble. He never faltered in his duty. He is eminently qualified for the position he seeks. He has enei'gy, ability and integrity, the requisites you require in pubhc officers. His appointment will give general satisfaction and particularly oblige your friends here and none more than ourselves. Most Respectfully, McKee, Fishback & Co. Lieutenant Governor Stanard. St. Louis, Sept. 1, 1869. Hon. Columbus Delano, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Sir. — It affords me more than usual pleasure to recommend for appointment to the office of Supervisor of Internal Revenue of this district, Gen. McDonald. He is an able, efficient and upright man, and I believe him peculiarly fitted to discharge the duties of the office. That his appointment will give general satisfaction I have no doubt, and certainly it will add strength to the party here. Very Respectfully, E. O. Stanard, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. This was endorsed as follows: I concur with the gentlemen in their recommendation of Gen. McDonald. Nathan Cole, Mayor of St. Louis. Irwin Z Smith, Judge St. Louis County Court, James S. Farrar, Judge StSLouis County Court. MY EECOMMENDATIONS. 23 State Senator George H. Rea. Second National Bank, ) St. Louis, Sept. 7, 1869. J Hon. Columbus Delano, Commissioner Internal Revenue, Sir. — The bearer of this. Gen. McDonald, is well known in this city as a man of, sterling integrity, a hard worker and possessed of good business qualifications and great energy. Any appointment given him would give general satisfaction in this city. Truly Yours, George H. Rea. Ex-Governor Fletcher. St. Louis, Aug. 31, 1869. Dear Sir. — My old friend Brevet Brigadier General John McDonald, will be an applicant for appointment of Supervis ing Inspector Internal Revenue at this place. Permit me to: say that I have known him long and well; he is a gentleman of remarkable energy and fine business qualifications, and possessed of a quick perception and ready ability of reaching conclusions fronTcombinations of facts, which eminently fit him for the place. Gen. McDonald was one of the first among the young men of Missouri to respond to the call of the country in 1861, and was a favorite officer in one of our fighting regi ments. As a soldier he deserves well of the country, and as a business man he is well fitted to do good service in the civil department. Very Respectfully your obedient servant, Thos. C. Fletcher. Hon. Columbus Delano, Supt. Internal Revenue United States. The endorsements on this recomendation were as follows; Having entire confidence in the fitness of Gen. McDonald for the position referred to, I shall be much gratified to hear of his appointment, and believe he will give general satisfac tion. Jas. B. Eads. I cordially indorse every word of the within. Francis Rodman, Secretary of State of Missouri, 24 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING Rooms Radical Union, Executive Committee. >• St.} City and County of St. Louis, No. 11 North Fifth I St. Louis, Sept. 4, 1869. Hon. C. Delano, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Dear Sir: — I know Brevt. Brig. Genl. John McDonald well, and most cheerfully say that a more satisfactory ap pointment to the office of Inspector of Internal Revenue at St. Louis could not be made. McDonald has the requisite integrity, ability, energy and tact necessary to fill the position with credit to this administration. I speak of what I know ; having been four years President of R. U. Ex. Committee my opportunity to form a correct judgment has been good. I think, sir, you will find McDonald an officer who will obey orders promptly and do all in his power to honestly collect - the Revenue so much needed by our government. McDonald can command any endorsement required. I hope you will appoint him to the office. I am dear sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, Alfred Clapp. P. S. I am not now the President of the above R. U. Ex. C. A. C. From Hon. Peter E. Bland. St. Louis, Aug. 31, 1869. Hon. Columbus Delano, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Sir : — Permit me to recommend my friend Genl. John McDonald for appointment to the office of Supervisor ^of In ternal Revenue in this district in case of the removal of the present incumbent. Genl. McDonald's political record is too well known for remark, and his promptitude, efficiency and general ability, peculiarly fit him for discharging the duties of that office in a manner satisfactory to the government and beneficially to the just interests of all concerned. Very respectfully and truly yours, P. E. Bland. MY EECOMMENDATIONS. 25 In addition to the foregoing letters were also the following which I omit for want of space : Capt. John Scudder. Geo1. P. Plant, President Merchants Exchange. Capt. Bart. Abel, and a large number of other members of the Merchants Exchange. U. S. Senator Rice of Arkansas. Congressmen Logan H. Roots and Bowles of Arkansas. Gov. Powell Clayton, Arkansas. Senator Pomeroy, of Kansas, and many others. A stronger endorsment than this no man ever forwarded to Washington as I have been frequently told by those occupying the highest positions in official life. The opposition made to my appointment, and brought directly to the notice of the President, was the following telegram : St. Louis, Feby. 16, 1870. Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Sec'y of the Treas., Washington. If the contemplated change of Supervisor in this district is not fixed, I would suggest that the character of the new appointee should be investigated here and at Memphis. Chester H. Krum, Atty. U. S., etc. C. W. Ford, Collector. C. A. Newcomb, U. S. Marshal. St. Louis, Oct. 7, 1869. Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of Treasury, Washington, D. C. Please withold commission of McDonald until you hear by mail. We regard it as highly prejudicial to the interests of the Government. C. Schurz, U. S. S., D. P. Dyer, M. C, Jno. W. Noble, U. S. Att'y., C. A. Newcomb, U. S. Marshal. 26 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. [copy of letter.] Eastern District of Mo., ) U. S. Attorney's Office, j St. Louis, Oct. 7, 1869. Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury, Washing ton, D. C. Sir: We have to-day learned, by the telegrams of our daily papers, that John McDonald, of this place, has been appointed Supervisor of Internal Revenue, and assigned for duty to this district. We beg leave to assure you that the reputation of this man, and his associates, are such that he can bring no moral support to the Government in the enforcement of the Internal Revenue Laws, and that it is quite certain that his qualifications, natural or acquired, are such as render the appointment an unfit one to be made. We believe that, by his being placed in so important an office, the collection of the revenue will be retarded, and the combinations which have heretofore existed against the Gov ernment, will be re-establishedj C. Sohurz, U. S. S., D. P. Dyer, M. C, Jno. W. Noble, U. S. Att'y., C. A. Newcomb, U. S. Marshal. [copy of telegram.] Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of Treasury. , I unite with Senator Schurz, and others, against the appoint ment of John McDonald for Supervisor. N G. A. Finkelnburg, M. C.\ r i \£& (copy of telegram.] ' To Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of Treasury, Washing ton, D. C. I unite with Senator Schurz, Dyer, Finkelnburg, and others, against the appointment of John McDonald as Super visor of Revenue, R. T. VanHqrn. ASSUMING THE DUTIES OF SUPEEVISOE. 27 JBeing greatly concerned about my heavy loss in the Erie disaster, I went to New York from Wash ington for the purpose of taking steps to recover from the Erie Company a compensation for, my losses. After persistent efforts I obtained a small sum, and, leaving the claim in an unsettled con dition, I returned to St. Louis, only to find that I had not been assigned to duty, and nearly all the ter ritory had been occupied by other appointees. A bitter fight was made against my assignment by Drake, Newcomb, Schurz. Van Horn) (who after wards became most instrumental in having Missouri added to my district in order to displace Supervisor Marr, then in charge of the state), and C. W. Ford, then collector at St. Louis, whose letters will be referred to hereafter. On the 12th of November, 1869, I took possession of the Supervisor's office, having charge of the district embracing Arkansas and Indian Territory, with headquarters at Little Eock. \ Before leaving Washington to take charge of the district, instructions were issued to me to investi gate gigantic frauds which it was reported were being perpetrated by tobacco manufacturers in the Indian Territory. I spoke to President Grant of the strength of the tobacco combination, and told him that in proceeding against these manufactur ers, I wouldjneed the assistance of himself and the revenue department. His reply was: " Proceed, without fear and be assured you shall have the last/ hearing." I lost no time in pushing the investigation against the Indian Territory revenue evaders, and the har- 28 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. vest of fraud was so bounteous that, in about one month's time, I had four large manufactories, to gether with large and various lots of unstamped tobacco, libeled and in court. ^Commissioner Delano sent me several telegrams ordering a release of the goods thus seized, which I disregarded, by not reading, for the reason that I was confident I had a clear case for the Govern ment, and therefore thought it would be criminal to stop at such a stage of the proceedings, a posi tion -which afterwards brought great credit upon the administration. The Eepublican party in Missouri, at the time I became a revenue officer, was harrassed by dissentions, and the especial virulency of the Missouri Democrat sowed the seeds of a grow ing discord among the adherents of the adminis tration. The President was greatly annoyed at these apparently irreconcilable differences among his friends, and, to restore harmony within the party, he sent for me, and after a lengthy discussion of these difficulties, he decided to attach the state of Missouri to my district and make my headquar ters at St. Louis. This order was as follows : Treasury Department, • ) Office Internal Revenue. > Washington, Feb'y 14th, 1870. ) Sir: The state of Missouri has been detached from the district of Supervisor Marr and appended to yours. Your district / will, therefore, now embrace the states of Missouri and Arkah- WHAT GEANT DESIBED ME TO DO. 29 sas, and the Indian Territory, and your headquarters are fixed at St. LouiB, Missouri. Very Respectfully, J. W. Douglass, Gen. John McDonald, Acting Commissioner. Supervisor, Little Rock, Ark. The President had confidence in my ability to pacify the disturbing elements, and frankly con fessed that it was essentially necessary for me to direct my best efforts in this direction, as his success for a second term lay chiefly in the demand for his re-nomination coming from the West. The-jchange pleased me because St. Louis was mjChoine) and headquarters in that city would be much more agreeable for many reasons. Immediately after assuming charge of the reve nues of Missouri I had a conversation with Wm. McKee, senior proprietor of the Missouri Democrat, in which he admitted that his opposition to the President was caused by Grant's persistency in appointing persons to office in St. Louis contrary to his (McKee's) expressed wishes, and against the best policy of the party in the state. He was especially bitter against Ford, the collector, and asserted that he was entitled to the benefits be stowed upon the party by his paper. Several other conversations occurred between us in which con tingencies were provided for. In the early part of April, 1870, I_to.ok^a trip South and remained absent for some time; upon my return, among the communications awaiting my attention was the following, enclosed in a letter of instructions from Acting Commissioner Doug lass: 30 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY ElNG. St. Louis, Mo., April 4th, 1870. Dear Sir: You had better examine Mr. Ford's affairs at once, as waft as L. Card's distillery; if you do so, as it ought to be done, you will fineLsomething which wilLasfaro&fr-yoM. R. D. Simpson. (Private.) In this connection it is proper that the reader understand the fact that nearly every distillery in the district was, at that time, libeled and shut up, and the revenue was coming in at an exceedingly slow rate ; but I at once acted upon the suggestion of this letter and thoroughly investigated Mr. Ford's books, and also the distillery. During the progress of this investigation, which was made without the suspicion of Mr, McKee, the following - editorial appeared in the Missouri Democrat of August 12th, 1870. AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT. When you said " Let us have peace ! " Mr. President, and the people, taking that phrase as their battle cry, elected you, we at once began to labor for the policy thus marked out- Political disabilities still kept alive in this State the passions of war, and, that the State might have peace, we advocated their removal. Every form of prejudice, and passion, was at once appealed to by those who resisted that course. We were accused of a design to betray and destroy the party, when, in truth, we had only advocated the very policy upon which a Republican President had just been elected. The liberal policy triumphed in the Legislature; first in the election of a Senator, and finally in the submission of Consti- " tutional Amendments, removing a disfranchisement no longer required or justified by public safety. But notwithstanding this deliberate decision of the representatives of the party, there were MCKEE'S THREATENING LETTEE. 31 men who refused to accept. The advocates of your policy they denounced as " infamous," as " traitors," and' the like. The attempt is now being industriously made, in every part of the State, to control the Convention of the party against that policy which will give the State a perfect peace. And, satis fied that they cannot prevail by the honest vote of the party, a deliberate effort is made to swindle the majority of the Rad icals out of their rights: first, by the election of delegates in meetings not called for that purpose; and, second, by a repre sentation which enables 35,000 Radicals, in sparsely settled counties, to overpower and vote down in Convention 50,000 Radicals in the more populous counties. All these things are done to control the party in this State against the policy of which you are the author, and which men have been encour aged to advocate by your high authority. In these schemes, Mr. President, there are busily engaged a few of the men who hold federal offices under you. They were selected, in part, for their supposed fidelity to the party, and to the liberal principles which it advocates. But they use the official position and influence thus given to them in desperate efforts, not only to defeat that policy which originated with yourself, but to defeat it by swindling the majority of the party out of its legitimate power to out -vote a minority. It seems to us, Mr. President, that the few individuals referred to; as they are engaged in making war upon a vital feature of your administration, and by methods calculated to divide and disrupt the party, may very fitly be deprived of official influence and position that strengthen them in their undertaking. We commend the subject to your consideration, Sir, and shall take occasion to mention, in a less public man ner, the names of these disturbers of the party, and opposers of the policy of your administration. Meanwhile, with, or without, any aid, the majority of the Radical party will carry the liberal policy forward to a com plete and glorious triumph. The result is not in doubt The amendments will be indorsed by the Convention, and adopted 32 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. by the people. The question is rather this: Whether the administration shall be more or less fully identified with the iberal policy, which the President himself originated and pro claimed. The people will support the administration. They would also be pleased to see the administration support itself. / The full intent of this editorial was not doubtful. McKee* was anxious for the removal of several rev enue officials distasteful to him, and particularly C. W. Ford, the Collector, who was such a warm bosom friend of the President's that only extraor dinary influences could accomplish his removal. Hence the editorial was in the nature of a threat, a part of which was carried out by Mr. McKee in the organization of the Liberal party in Missouri, the. following fall. A very sudden change now transpired, which transformed the elements of discord, into the hap piest, reconciliation. In the investigation I prose^ cuted at Ulrici's distillery (formerly run by Card & Lawrence, as referred to in Simpson's letter of in formation,) a most glaring fraud was unearthed, viz. the discovery of 48,000 bushels of grain, which had been used for distillation and unaccounted for to the Government. The magnitude of this fraud was equal to stealing directly from the Government the sum of $117,600, and I at once accused Mr. Ford of guilty knowledge in the disposition of that money. After a season cf skillful evasion Mr. Ford admitted the frauds, and exhibited the deepest humility and remorse of conscience. I reported to Mr. McKee the result of my investigation, and from that moment he was anxious for the retention of Mr. Ford in the Collector's office, and expressed his WE IMPOST A EING MANAGES. 33 sorrow at having published in his paper the editorial just referred to and printed in full. For some time before this McKee had made sug gestions to me about organizing a ring among the revenue officials in St. Louis, to derive profits frojn_ illicit distilling, but Ford prevented aJp.rms^rnmation of this intention ; and after Ford was detected, in connection with Concannon, his deputy, in defraud- ing.the Government, he ptill refused to treat with McKee, because of the antagonisms which had ex isted between them. The matter was then laid before President Grant, together with an explana tion of McKee's opposition to the administration. Soon afterwards Ford signified his willingness to meet and arrange details with McKee, which, (I can state with only circumstantial proof,) was caused by instructions from the President to Mr. Ford Having come to an understanding, arrangements , were completed by which McKee, Ford and myself I were to control all the federal appointments in Mis-j souri, the Senators of that time, (Hon. Frank Blair and Hon. Carl Schurz,) not being in sympathy with the administration, and were consequently ignored by the President. The revenue was honestly collected and returned until the fall of 1871, when, at the suggestion of Mr. McKee, one Conduce G. Magrue was imported from Cincinnati to manage the JUicit-distiffiBg-^ and to arrange for the collection of the assessments to be made on the distillers and rectifiers. Magrue's qualifications for this position were of the highest order, as he had successfully conducted two or three enterprises of like character before. - His introduc- 34 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY SING. tion to St. Louis was, ostensibly, as an agent for some patent paving company in the East. The Eing would have begun operations much ear lier than it did, had it not been for the fact that every distillery in St. Louis was Hbeled, with the single exception of Ulrici's, at which Ford's crook edness was first discovered. A removal of .these hbels, necessary to a release that would permit the distilleries to run again, required the labor of sev eral months ; not that there was any opposition to their release, but because of the delay in accumu lating the evidence and advancing the cases, in the department, for final disposition. I went to Wash ington myself and remained there until I had pro cured the release of all the Hbeled distilleries. During my stay in Washington, I received the fol lowing letter from John A. Joyce, my private secre tary, who was well acquainted with the purposes of the Eing and that the President was to share its profits : St. Louis, Mc, Oct, 15th, 1870. Dear General : I have had a talk with McKee to-day with regard to the situation in Missouri. I know that down deep in his breast is a warm spark (ironical) for the President. That spark can be fanned into a flame that will burn brightly until 1872, and culminate in a grand ovation for the hero of the war and light his way to the White House. It is no use disguising the fact, the Missouri Democrat is a great power in this State, and we must secure it for Grant now and for 1872. * * * * # * * * * sfc - I hope your interview with the President will be satisfactory to all concerned and that he will turn-a-kind ear to what you may relate. You are his friend. Joyce's epistolaey suggestions 35 Be sure and fix our St. Louis cases, for they mil materially advance the interests of the administration. Yours in haste, John A. Joyce. Enclosed with this letter was a slip upon which was written in lead pencil the foUowing : " I send you this letter for the purpose of good. If you see the President and have a chance, take it out of your side- pocket and let him read it. Think and act." There was, I repeat, an understanding between the President, McKee, Ford, Joyce and myself that a Eing should be formed, the proceeds from which should constitute a campaign fund to advance the interests of the administration, hence the manner in which Joyce writes, also the following : St. LouevNov. 28th, 1870. Dear General: Yours of the 24th, was received this, Monday morning. I am pleased to know that Sec'y Delano, John & Co., (referring to the Secretary's son and others) are as ever your warm friends. ~^ff~^7J7 By this time I presume you have .had a talk with the^Chief - at the White House, and learned (whether Drake has suc ceeded in pumping any/vitriol'into the mind of the President against the supervisors. If Gen. Cowan is made commissioner we will not, I pre sume, suffer thereby, as he will have every reason to be our friend. ********* I read the article in the St. Joe. Herald to CapJ^Ford, and he was highly delighted to know that a Brown (B. Gratz) paper had taken that shoot, and was curioUs to "know how in the world did you get him to publish it." I informed him that you had a way of doing things, and gave Bitttnger (the editor) to understand that it was to his interest to support the adminis tration.' ********* 86 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. I hope your interview with the President will be of a satis factory character, and that you will return to your district stronger in his estimation than ever. ******** * * This office is running as smooth as a sunbeam, and my only anxiety is that you will, this time, make talk and promise (sic) count " greenbacks," for what is a man in this world without a good supply of the " filthy lucre " obtained honorably and honestly. I am ever yours, John A. Joyce. A thorough understanding of this latter letter can only be obtained through a knowledge of the current events of that time : Col. Bittinger was a IL S. Gauger and was also one of the editors and proprietors of the St. Joseph, Mo., Herald, an in fluential Eepublican sheet which had foUowed the dictation of the Missouri Democrat and espoused the Liberal movement whose candidate and cham pion was B. Gratz Brown, -in 1872 the candidate for Vice President, with Horace Greeley. Presi dent Grant, being ambitious for a second term, saw the necessity of reclaiming the Herald and Demo crat. How he obtained the support of the latter will be more fully related hereafter. I was the in- , strument used by the President in each case to pacify and win over these recalcitrant sheets. Be ing well fortified with instructions, I saw Col. Bit tinger, and, finding him plastic to essential over tures, promised to place him in a position by which he might be a beneficiary of a fund created through "! illicit distilling in St. Joseph. In addition to this promise to permit the St. Joseph distiUeries to run crooked, I also agreed to secure for him an appoint ment as consul to one of the important cities of HOW I SECUEED NEWSPAPEE INFLUENCE. 37 England. C. B. Wilkinson, also one of the pro prietors of the Herald, had a claim against the Government amounting to nearly $10,000, in his settlement upon going out of the office of Collector in about 1865. This claim (I was told by Wilkin son) had been ignored, although the influence of Ben. Loan, Van Horn, Asper, Senator Hender son, Jim Craig and Senator Drake, I beHeve, and many other influential poHticians had been exerted for its allowance. I also promised to coUect , ihe claim, and to give the paper certain federal patron- age, if the Herald would renounce its liberal course, and come out strong for the administration. My offers were accepted, and when I went to Washing ton I told President Grant of myl-arrangements, and drew his attention to the condition of Wilkin son's claim. I further told him that Mr. Wilkin son was especially anxious to secure this money, as he would then be enabled to increase the power of his paper. The President repHed : " There wiU be no trouble about that, for I wiU see Mr. BoutweU and have the matter attended to." Upon my return to St. Louis, I reported to Mr. Wilkinson the readiness of the Government to set tle the claim, and in two weeks thereafter I ap peared in Washington with Wilkinson, and took him to the Treasury Department. Upon meeting Mr. Boutwell, the Secretary, Wilkinson announced the object of his visit, where upon the Secretary repHed: "Yes, I have already been spoken to about that matter; if you will come back about two o'clock we will fix your claim," 38 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. and calling a messenger he sent out for the Comp troller and the papers in the case. Wilkinson kept the engagement, and at the ap pointed hour he received a draft on the Assistant Treasurer at New York for the fuU amount of the claim. Thus the engagement with the Herald was con summated, and to the more thoroughly seal the compact and utiHze Bittinger and Wilkinson the latter was, in February 1873, appointed coUector of the revenue at St. Joseph, and the " machine " there went into full operation under a new regime. The district had been running crooked, however, for some time before, but now the earnestness of the iUicit distillation was pronounced and bold. Con.- Magrue having arrived in St. Louis in Sep tember,. 1871, everything was then fixed 'for the | manufacture of illicit whiskey throughout the dis- l/trict) The foregoing is a succinct statement of the suc cessive steps leading to the organization of the Whiskey Eing at St. Louis ; but the same history has been partially written before, with greater mi nuteness, by Wm. Grosvenor, formerly editor in chief of the Missouri Democrat, when that paper was the property of Mr. McKee. Mr. Grosvenor was, owing to a peculiar relation (not criminal)' with the St. Louis members of the Eing at the time,, well qualified to write a true history of its superfi cial operations and, barring three or four material errors which I will correct, his statement is a true one. It is as follows ; THE GS0SVEN0E LETTEE. 39 " Prior to Grant's inauguration there had been a Whiskey Ring in St. Louis — officials under Andrew Johnson had made money; favored distillers had spent money freely to sustain the party which Johnson aided* But the ring of those days was, in comparison, a laughing affair. It served to excite the cupidity of certain Republicans who sought the control of certain offices after Grant was elected. Nearly all were disap pointed. Grant had formerly lived at St. Louis and had there a set of friends to reward, a few of whom had been active partisans. Mr. McKee, senior proprietor of the Democrat, then the leading Republican organ in that part of the country, demanded the appointment of Col. Constantine Maguire as collector, with the expectation that his brother, Henry McKee, would be deputy collector. Now the deputy collector has charge of the distilleries. But Grant appointed Col. Ford unknown as a Republican, who had loaned money to Grant when he was in great need, and who subsequently acted as his ' confidential adviser in the disposition of his private means. Well known Republicans were recommended for supervisor of internal revenue in that district. Grant appointed Gen. John McDonald, a man who had held intimate relations with him when Grant was in command in the Mississippi Valley and who was understood to have made some money in cotton operations below Memphis at that time. When it was known that McDonald was likely to be appointed there was a general opposition alike by business men and Republicans; the Union Merchants' Exchange protested; prominent citizens and the newspapers protested. What business men had knawn of McDonald did not lead them to think him a suitable person for such an office. Leading Republicans protested. Members of Congress from Missouri, then all Republicans, led by Carl Schurz and Drake, who were at bitter warfare personally, all united in protest. But. while this opposition was most threat ening, McDonald remained in St. Louis, saying openly: "They need not trouble themselves; I know Gen. Grant better than any of them, and I shall be appointed, no matter who prof 40 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING . /tests." He was right. McKee was indignant and bitter. He had not been able to control the collectorship, and from that time spoke of Grant in terms which it would not be decent to repeat. Eariy the next year the controversy respecting a removal of* disfranchisement began, and the Democrat's readi ness to split the Republican party on that issue was almost wholly due to McKae's vindictiveness toward Grant and desire to show his power:) He and his active partner, gir. Houser, had been among the most bitter disfranchisersl and could in no way have been led to take position against disfranchisement but for desire to control ihe federal offices in St. Louis. Grant, fully advised of this, and supposing that no higher motives governed Schurz and other Repubhcans who opposed continued disfranchisement, made war on the Liberal move ment; quite unnecessarily, for nine-tenths of those who sup ported it cared nothing about the offices, and had at that time no feeling of antagonism towards him or the Republican party. The result was the Liberal victory of 1870 in Missouri. McKee felt that the power of his paper had been shown, and began to talk freely of a National movement against the Re publican party, of which his paper was to be the chief organ, and Gratz Brown, his former associate in the Democrat, the presidential candidate. Then began the Whiskey Ring. Early in 1871-McKee said to me, at that time editor of the Democrat, that reasons had been presented to him for jjhangj^ ing the course of the paper : that the opposition to Grant ought to cease ; that there were very important arrangements on foot which would be highly profitable to all of us if we could be on good terms with the federal officials. Naturally insisting upon more light, I was told by him at last, after many significant winks and nods, that the matter in question con cerned the revenue service, and that we could just as well make $100,000 each if we would let him arrange it and say nothing more in > the paper against Grant. I declined to change my poltitical opinions so readily, and was presently notified that my services as editor were no longer needed. I THE GEOSVENOE LETTEE. 41 demanded reasons, but was peremptorily refused any explana tion. This was in February, 1871. Thej_p_apex=did^suddenly yrhae] n.rnnnd t.r» t.ViA giippnrtjjf Grantr and in March the first general assessment of whiskey distilleries was made. Accord ing to testimony given at St. Louis, a regular share of the money collected from distilleries was, from the first, paid to John Leavenworth, since deceased, for delivery to Mr. McKee. How far the promise of this share in the profits of illicit dis tilling influenced the sudden conversion in the political opin ions of McKee and his paper others can judge. The first assessment was made? professedly, to raise a cam paign fund, for the city election in April, 1871. As soon as the Democrat changed its course, a great effort was made to put an end to the liberal organization, and unite all former Republicans in support of the administration, and a victory in St. Louis was reached, as proof that the re-union had been effected.. How much of the money raised, professedly for this purpose, was actually paid for campaign expenses, is not known. But more than one distiller has told me how he was induced to contribute, and how^jQie ohjficted^tojrand, J^was-foxcadlo-chooseJjfiJgye^ii^artidp^ -hankrjiptcys .jQfiL_F-Qrd_was at that time collector, and Mr. Concannon, who has since made his peace with the Govern ment, by testifying, I believe, was deputy in the collector's office. If distillers, or rectifiers, declined to act with the Ring, care was taken, -first, to entrap them in_sojne_jj^arenB OT_technicai- violation ..of -thaJass^ whichpby pre-arrangemen& among officials, was detected at once — in some cases, before the distillers or rectifiers had time to discover that the " crooked " stuff was on their premises. Then their establish ments were seized, and they were told to see Mr. Ford. When they saw Ford, they were told to go to Concannon. When they went to Concannon, they were told that there was a little difficulty, which they could arrange by seeing John Leaven worth. When Leavenworth had explained matters, they per ceived that if they did as he desired them, there would be no 42 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. trouble; if not, they would be prosecuted and convicted for violation of law, and bankruptcy would be inevitable. How many men in St. Louis were forced into the Ring by this and other ways, and how many went into it voluntarily, probably, nobody will ever know. Leavenworth is dead; Ford is dead, and others who had part in the earlier transactions are no longer accessible. But Megrue, then an official, in whose room, in a building on the cormsr of Fifth and Pine streets, it is said, the spoils were at first divided every week to the sev eral parties in interest, has testified to transactions in his time. After his departure, and Leavenworth's death, one Everist, for whom officials are now searching, and J. N. Fitz- roy, who has recently pleaded guilty and testified, acted as confidential collectors and disbursers of the funds. Thus it is probable that abundant proof will show to whom money was paid. For whom, may, in some cases, be a more difficult ques tion to answer. Ostensibly, the funds werje-origmally coJlectedJbj.parJaLjMir- poses. During the Presidential campaign, in 1872, when Republican leaders were alarmed, a dispatch was sent by one of them, a very prominent Senator, callings for a new assess ment on distillers, unless this dispatch itself was forged by some- member of the Ring, as a pretext for unusual demands. Bat- neither that year, nor any other, was the conduct of Republi can campaigns, in St. Louis, or Missouri, such as to warrant the belief that any large- sums was at the disposal of the com mittee. On the other hand, the. sums collected were very large. One after another, distillers and rectifiers became aware that the greater part of the funds collected from them was consumed for other than party purposes. But in 1872, the excuse was made that it was necessary to establish a reli able Grant organ. Early in that year, the Democrat had been forced to sale under order of court for dissolution of partner ship, and McKee, and Houser, had been bought out by Mr. Fishback. Whether he would restore the paper to the liberal position'it had taken in 1870, was not known, but he was not THE GEOSVENOE LETTEE. 43 deemed " a reliable Grant man." The Ring needed an organ - — McKee reeded a paper as a reason for confined payments to him. Accordingly, the Globe was established by McKee and Houser, and it is stated that the payments lo Leavenworth, for McKee, were nearly $1,000 a week; amounting to over $44,000 within less than a year. Even this large sum was but a small part; it is said one-fifth — of that portion of the profits which distillers were required to pay. Many gaugers and subor dinate officials were paid extra salaries by the distillers them selves, but about forty per cent, went to the higher officials. How this portion — the fund of the Ring, proper — was divided at different times, the testimony will probably show. It is alleg ed that one portion went to the supervisor, another to the con fidential agent, and another to McKee for himself; another to him, professedly, to deliver to Ford, the collector; another to "the man in the country," a phrase supposed to refer to some body in Washington; for at an early day, the Ring must have secured some powerful influence at the Capital — that the supervisor had considerable influence, either with Gfant him self, or through somebody else, was obvious when he was appointed. _CaL_Eo*dr.the collector, had so great an influence with the President, that his appointment as Secretary of the \ Interior, when Delano was about to vacate that office, in 1873, J was confidently expected by the Ring, and, I believe, was actu ally determined upon by the President at the time of Ford's sudden death. It is not known to me whether any evidence proves that money set apart and paid for Ford, ever reached him, and he may, perhaps, have supposed that the only collec tions made were for political uses. But, however strong Mc Donald and Ford may have been, there was needed, and there was secured, somebody at Washington to give the Ring early warnings of the treasury investigations, and to stop all com plaints from reaching the Secretary or the President,!, for the conduct of the President, since the exposure; makes it im possible to believe that he was in any sort of complicity with the Ring. Yet complaints were forwarded, sometimes to the 44 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Secretary, and sometimes to the President himself, without result. If investigations were ordered, either the person selected and sjmt out, was one whose eyes and ears could be closed by a bribe, or the Ring was warned by telegraph before he had left Washington, and had ample time to put everything in readiness to receive him with equanimity. ' That complete immunity was thus secured at an early day, is certain. Mr. Avery, the chief clerk of the treasury, is under indictment for complicity, and there is testimony that $200 per week was set apart for him. But he was not, the only person at Washington whose constant aid was needed, and, if statements of the division of funds are correct, the amount' sent thither was much greater than he was said to have received. It is stated in recent dispatches that telegrams and docu ments sent from Washington to members of the Ring have been placed before the grand jury now in session. Of course persons' having part in this dangerous business did not sign their own names; ficticious signatures were used at both ends. But the**original telegrams, if obtained from the office by legal authority, may be in recognizable handwritings, and rumor says that at least one person nearer the President than Mr. Avery, will thus be proved to have been telegraphing to the Ring with a fictitious signature. It was at one time openly alleged by distillers that Commissioner Douglass was in the Ring, but, if they had been told so by officials in St. Louis that alone would prove nothing, and I know of no other evi dence concerning him. What the Ring needed at Washing ton was not influence with any department. When Mr. Doug lass suggested, and Secretary Bristow ordered a transfer of supervisors to different districts, a measure which would cer tainly have uncovered fraud, Gen. McDonald declared in the most confident manner that the order would be immediately J recinded; he jumped on the cars, went to Washington, saw tha President and telegraphed back that all was right. The ordejr wae recinded. What representations could have led the Presi dent to believe jt wise or necessary to revoke such an order it THE GEOSVENOE LETTEE. 46 is hard to guess. But the Ring openly boasted that it had a power at Washington which could not be resisted nor broken. Moreover, the members undoubtedly believed it themselves. That is the mysterious part of the whole business. No man who watched the proceedings of these people can possibly doubt that they were absolutely fearless of exposure, and per fectly convinced that their power was greater than that of Secretary Bristow himself. /Repeatedly they boasted, even\ after the exposure had begun, that they would have him out of | the cabinet in a few days^/At one time they named the day on which Delano would become Secretary of the Treasury. They did not go about like men who had anything to hide. Dia^ _monds, for which official salaries would not account, were worn openly and purchased several thousand dollars' worth at a time, without attempt at concealment. Officials with moderate salaries lived with their families at hotels, expending obviously more than their known incomes, and yet made open purchases of costly summer residences. If whiskey operators or dis charged revenue officials threatened to make exposures at Washington, they were kindly invited to " expose and be '' not blessed. One at least tried it, made a dead failure, came back to St. Louis, and was told that he had better keep his mouth shut in future, or he would get sent to the penitentiary for defrauding the Government. , When McDonald, now indicted, went to Washington, he was received by the President and rode with him on the avenue. When the President visited St. Louis, McDonald was usually in his company, and as late as October, 1874, when the Presi dent visited the Fair grounds, in the presence of 50,000 peo ple, McDonald was by his side. It was currently reported at the time, that, having praised a horse at the Fair, the Presi dent received it the next day as j^jgresent^fc^mJus-fjaead-Mc- ,-Pnpal.J; that he permitted the officials there to have a carriage manufactured expressly for him, and to pay his bills at the hotel. How many of these stories were falsely set afloat by members of the Ring, in order to strengthen their claim of 46 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. great influence with the President, I cannot say. But one thing is certain, this Ring had some peculiar power at Wash ington, and the investigation will not be complete until the nature of that power is thoroughly made known. The Presi dent owes it to himself to have that thing exposed, if nothing else. As it stands the matter is both ugly and mysterious. The Ring actually had great power at Washington; boasted that it had absolute power, and apparently believed it, and yet members of it have been convicted. I confess that these things lead me to suspect that somebody, known to be influen tial with the President, traded on that influence, received money for it, and made members of the Ring believe that the President himself winked at the conspiracy. The Ring was broken two or three times, and payments stopped. Once there was a quarrel about the amount of assessments. It made quite a noise in St. Louis, and everybody expected a general explosion. Presently it was settled by some new ar rangement, and everything went on peacefully again. In the fall of 1873, there was a cataclysm of some sort, so violent that for a time the Globe published bitter anti-third- term articles. If this Ring kept books it would be safe to wager that about that time the usual weekly settlements were interrupted, and injpoint of fact, there was a notorious run about Busby's distillery, and daily expectation of disclosure. In due time harmony was restored, and the Globe recovered its loyalty. The sudden death of Col. Ford, the collector, caused a brief disturbance. But tbe Ring urged the immediate appointment of the same Colonel Maguire, whose selection for that office McKee demanded in 1869. He was appointed; Fitz- roy became his deputy, and from that time forward the loyalty" of the Globe was intense and glowing. Indeed, so violent was its attachment to Republicanism, pure and undefiled, that in 1874, when four-fifths of the Republicans in the State desired to join with the independent Democrats in the support of a no-party anti-Bourbon ticket, McKee agreed to support the movement only on condition that he should name the candi- THE GEOSVENOE lettee. 47 date for State Treasurer. When that was impossible, the Globe denounced the plan as treachery to the party, and McKee himself, with others in the Ring, went to the State convention and tried to organize a bolt, and the nomination of a strict party ticket against the formal decision of a party convention. Failing in that, he used his paper throughout the campaign in savage hostility to the independent ticket, and helped_thfl_ Bnurbons materially. Republican ward meetings were packed by companies of men gathered up from distilleries, under the lead of revenue officials. Republican candidates for the legis lature, who would not pledge themselves to vote against the re-election of Senator Schurz, were openly denounced by this Ring and its organ,' and defeated wherever it was possible. Doubtless this opposition helped to insure the election of a former Confederate general. For this most important service to the Republican party, after leading members of the Ring had been indicted, they claimed that they were entitled to executive favor. This behavior of the Ring in the campaign of 1874, led to its destruction. Men who had no knowledge of its existence, except by general rumor, set themselves to find out something about this influence which had marched men from distilleries to Republican ward meetings. When the Merchant's Exchange statistics for 1874 were published, some men compared the receipts and shipments of whiskey with the official report of the quantity produced in the city. It was at once apparent that the quantity consumed and shipped was greatly in excess of the quantity received and said to be manu factured. The excess represented a loss of revenue, in St. Louis alone, of % 1 .^{KMWQ-yarly. This suggested a new mode of detecting the fraud — namely, an examination of the bills of lading, or other commercial reports of receipts and shipments. It soon became evident that fraud could be fastened upon individuals. Mr. Fish? 'ack, proprietor of the Democrat, com municated confidentially v:th Secretary Bristow. Without the knowledge of those who had been accustomed to warn the Ring of doings at Washington, the Secretary commissioned 48 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Mr. Coloney, commercial editor of the Democrat, as special officer of the revenue. Thus armed with ample authority, Mr. Coloney proceeded first to collect, as if for the newspaper, a complete statement of every bill of lading or shipment during the year, not of whiskey alone, but of all important articles, so that his object was not suspected. But the comparison of these shipments, from operators in whiskey at St. Louis, with official reports at Washington, gave conclusive proof against nearly all the illicit establishments, and led to the general exposure of whiskey frauds all over the land. Thus a few [commercial statistics upset the most powerful conspiracy ever ^ formed against the revenue service in this country. When the long labor oL tracing and comparison had progressed far enough to insure the conviction of the leading distillers and rectifiers, the Secretary sent on from Washington special agents to make seizures. But in doing so, he found it neces sary for the first time to make known to a few trusted officials the work he had on hand, and that very night the telegraph took from Washington to Gen. McDonald at St. Louis the announcement: " Lightning will strike on Monday,." For about two months before Mr. Fishback had been offering to sell his controlling interest in the Democrat to Mr. McKee, of the Globe. All offers had been disregarded. Mr. Bowman, as attorney for the Globe, had made efforts for amiable settle ment, and through him Mr. Fishback had been led to name terms which he would accept, but for weeks those terms had been treated as totally inadmissable by the owners of the Ring organ, and Mr. Bowman, not imagining that anything could occur speedily to bring the parties together, had left town for a few days. On Monday lightning did strike. The distilleries were seized by special officers from Washington. Even then the Ring was perfectly defiant, and predicted that in a very few days every establishment would be released, and Secretary; Bristow removed from the Cabinet. But the next morning's' Democrat contained a dispatch of several columns from Wash ington stating the nature of the evidence which had been THE GEOSVENOE LETTEE. 49 collected. Then, for the firt time, the Ring saw that it had to fight hard. That morning there was a hurried meeting of the Ring, and books were consulted. That very afternoon Mr. Fishback's proposition was accepted, and the Democrat passed into con trol of the Ring. That same night editorials, congratulating the President and Secretary upon the exposure of the fraud, being in type of the Democrat office, were sent to Mr. McKee, of the Globe, for approval, and the proofs were returned by him with an order not to publish them. From that day noth ing was admitted to the Democrat in the nature of further exposure or comment favorable to the government. So much in haste was the Ring to complete the purchase, that it could not wait the return of the attorney who had acted for the Globe in the matter, but others were at once employed to draw up the necessary papers. The Democrat was speedily consoli dated with the Globe, and ceased to exist." One of Grosvenor 's mistakes is in his assertion that " the first assessment was made professedly to raise a campaign fundfor the city election in April, 1871." The first money derived from illicit distilling was in September, 1871, the month Magrue appeared in St. Louis to put the machinery of the Eing into op eration. I cannot give the minute details of the collection and disbursment of the ilHcit fund for the reason that there was no rule established for the government of the Eing members in their opera tions. One month an assessment of $20,000 may have been levied on the distillers and rectifiers and during the next month five times that sum may have been caUed for. Much depended upon the de^ -jxiaridJe*moneyjiiadeJby_J^ division among the administration conspirators, and the de mand for local purposes. 50 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. In addition to this the Washington segment of 'the Eing was in the habit of sending agents into imy district for the sole purpose of blackmail. I can have no doubt that Hogue, Brasher, and others who appeared here as revenue agents were sent by Babcock, and Eogers the deputy commis sioner (whom I conversed with and received almost admissions of the fact), for the purpose of scaring the St. Louis distillers into the payment of large sums of money for their silence. More than $100,- 000 was paid out of the fund in this way and that some of this money went into the White House has always been my positive belief. Grosvenor aUuded to the fact that in the f aU of 1873 an explosion occurred which well nigh dis rupted the Eing and seriously disturbed the loyalty of the Globe. The statement is correct and here I /will explain the cause : As previously stated, Grant's 'coHusion with the Eing consisted in his utilization 'of corrupt money to secure his re-election. After this purpose was accomplished I was anxious to see the Eing organization dissolved because its ramify cations were so extensive, and included such a vast number of men of every character that I was in constant dread of public exposure. Time and again I talked with McKee and the other managers urging upon them the danger of our position and the bad poHcy of continuing the corruption after our purposes were accomplished^ I laid the matter before Grant who referred me to Babcock-W-hose judgmeiit-h^-j?eJ,ied ,]rpon . McKfte, in the meantime became very much offended at my determination to break up the Eing, and finding the SENAT0E MOETON'S VISIT HOME. 51 administration rather according to my wishes he brought the pressure of his paper against me and was loud in his demands for my removal, being un able to accomplish which he attacked the third- term idea. At length, by seductive argument, the administration concurred in McKee's opinion that the Eing could be run successfully by creating a fund to advance Grant's third-term aspirations. When this view became pronounced I, at once accepted the purpose as a self-sufficient one and harmony again prevailed among all the members of the Eing. An explanation of this extract in Grosvenor's letter, "During the presidential campaign of 1872, when Eepublican leaders were alarmed, a dispatch was sent by one of them, a prominent Senator, call ing for anew assessment on distillers," is as foHows : A few days before the demand was made Senator Morton came to see me, while on his way to Hot Springs, arid although he was badly crippled he as cended the stairs to my office by the aid of his crutches and spoke to me in words of great friend ship, saying that he had not climbed a pair of stairs for a long time before and that he did so in this in stance out of compliment to me. We only talked of politics in general, but a few days afterwards Henry T. Blow came to me and said : " The Eepub- licans over in Indiana need our aid very badly and require money to help them through the campaign." I gave^ Mr. Blow $1,000, and understood through/, Mr. McKee that $30,000 was collected and sent to' Indiana by .-Mr. Blow. Mr. Grosvenor, while editor of the Democrat, learned some of the secrets of the Eing through the 52 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. suspicious actions of Mr. McKee and at length, in order to pacify him, Joyce gave him under pretence of a loan the sum of $500, to cease exercising his cu riosity, and soon thereafter he was notified that his services, as editor, were no longer required. His letter bears the impress of a disturbed mind having some jealousies to vindicate, but under the circumstances he writes with an unusual regard for facts which, however, are bad enough to afford him much satis faction in airing. The Grosvenor letter carries the narrative far be yond the regular order, and creates a hiatus in events which compels me to return and gather up the broken threads. I desire, here, to impress upon the reader a very essential fact which I trust wiU not be forgotten nor misconstrued : In producing corroborative evi dence I must use the proofs furnished by my co conspirators and such fragments as may be gathered from the statements of parties engaged in the pros ecutions, or newspaper writers whose facts have been gleaned from interviews with indescreet mem bers of the Eing. The copious reference I make to the letters of Col. John A. Joyce, my private sec retary and confidant, is pardonable I hope for these reasons. In order to show the unanimity and complete ac- icord of mutual understanding between President jGrant, Babcock, Douglass and others at Washing ton with the members at St. Louis, the following letter is produced, written while I was in Washing ton seeking the compromise that would permit the Hbeled distilleries in St. Louis to resume operations,/ A SEEIATIM LETTEE FE0M JOYCE. 53 St. Louis, Nov. 22, 1870. Dear General : By attending to the following suggestions the interest-of- thjaJjgyCTnmfiai-wi]! ha , adzaoged. 1st. Have the Department compromise the Curran and Thompson cases, sure ! 2d. See Avery and have him remember that Bittinger is to remain in office — and fix for him to get the other position hereafter. 3d. Be sure and fix the Leavenworth matter. 4th. Have General Sanford set right. 5th. Fix things so that your. " say " under section 49 will remove and transfer storekeepers and gaugers. 1 6th. ***** ^^th. ***** 8th. Above all things remember while in Washington that talk and promises will not pay and tha^fTieor?/ Yloes not amount/ to a row of pins unless put into practice. 9th. Let me know what's what. 10th, The future looks bright, and if you only get down to business while-at-the^ Capital all will be well. 11th. ^Uunther^ starts on his round for the benefit of Alex McDonald, to-morrow. We must strain every nerve to elect McD. to the Senate. Yours, J. A. J. This letter requires comments that wiU show the fuU meaning of the writer, John A. Joyce. In the beginning he refers to advancing the inte rest of the Government in an ironical manner. His true meaning is, 'Jl^diajaee-the-intese&t-ef-the. The explanations seriatim are as f oHows : 1st. Ford and McKee were especially anxious to Have the Curran and Thompson distilleries resume, and to run crooked. 54 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 2d. Avery was chief clerk of the Internal Eev- enue Bureau, and all appointments had to go through his handsJ^JEha^eme„oi_-Joyrifl was, to have-Ay ery aHow^Httinger^to remain gauger until other arrangements, previously explained, were con summated. 3d. McKee had recommended the appointment of John and Zeb. Leavenworth, the former as gauger and the latter as storekeeper, and it was particular for the Eing's purposes to have these two men appointed. 4th. Sandford was a relative of-^fesideBt Grant's "wife by marriage, and it was_aiJM!rs. Grants desire that I asked for him an appointment as a special clerk in my office, to look after tobacco stamps, etc. The aHusion to him by Joyce was merely to call the matter to my mind. 5th. This meant to obtain unlimited authority from the department, which I did, Douglass furn ishing me with orders, and remarking at the time: " I know you feUows out there are doing something for political purppses, but I don't want to know the details." I had previously spoken to President Grant and Babcock asking them to speak to Doug lass and have him give me the authority I required to make our purposes successful. They each told me they would, and the gratuitous remark of Mr. Doug lass led me to believe they had kept their promises. J 9th. By this he exhibits his desire to know if the President.and his nearest officers in the departments are favorable to the combination for iUicit distilling, and what he must expect. 10th. Is the same idea. Van hoen's testimony. 55 11th. This statement furnishes another proof that the Eing was a political combination. Mc Donald was at that time Grant's favorite, but events occurred after this which caused us to leave McDon ald, and throw our support to Clayton, under his written promise to support Grant's administration, which elected him. The next letter from Joyce, betraying the mo tives of the Eing and who its members were, reads as f oUows : St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 1st, 1870. Dear General: ******* ....-* -.* By this time I presume you have seen th'e_ President,/ and talked over the consolidation of districts, and that a conclusion has been, reached as to Missouri. I had a talk with Ford yesterday and read him part of your letter. He is highly delighted at your success in the Thomp son and Curran cases. These gentlemen happened in to-day, and I gave them the good news. This move of yours will do the administration great good and tend to a reconciliation o the contending elements here. Col. Van Horn was in this morning, on his way to Washing ton. He and Burdett are at the Planter's House. I told Van Horn a few things, and I know he will set Burdett right, if his machinery needs adjusting. You will see them both in Wash ington in a few days. Van was much interested in the con solidation matter and was much relieved when I told him that "things were all right in his neighborhood." Van went away feeling good and determined to pull any kinks out of Burdett that got twisted in the late mill. ********* Yours as ever, . John A. Joyce. The consoHdation of districts, referred to a reduc tion of the number of collectors and assessors, ac- t 56 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. fording to an act of the previous Congress. My Tetter, to which Joyce makes reference, was a noti- 'fication of the fact that I had succeeded in releas ing the Thompson and Curran distilleries, and had geompleted our combination with Grant, Babcock, ffand those at the Washington end of the Hue. The attitude of Mr. Ford towards me, while it might have appeared more properly in an earlier part of this book, is not now whoUy out of place, and if pardon is necessary, I ask it for including this array of circumstances here. After my first appointment as supervisor, but be fore Missouri had been attached to my district, dur ing the opposition of Krum, Newcomb, VanHorn, Dyer, (then a member of Congress,) aU of whom subsequently urged my re-appointment, Mr. Ford attacked me with extreme virulency. He addressed two letters to the President, appeahng to him in the name of a Hfe-long devoted friend, not to have any thing to do with me. His denunciation embraced aH the imprecations he could command, and all the indignation of his nature was emptied upon my head. Eeceivirig no reply to the first letter, two weeks afterwards he wrote a second, excusing the extraor dinary tone of that communication by his disinter ested devotion to his most valued friend, the Presi dent, but warmed up to his task and poured out fresh vials of abuse upon my character, befouHng me in the most ingenious manner. Mr. Ford was aware of the effort then being made to enlarge my district (which only included Arkan sas and Indian Territory) so as to embrace Missouri,- and he having been engaged filching from the Gov- A LETTEE FE0M MC'KEE. 57 ernment was afraid that my transfer to St. Louis would result in his exposure. This reason was clearly demonstrated afterwards, for after I had un covered his frauds and provided means to prevent a pubhc disclosure of his acts he became my warmest friend, and in 1872 he wrote the strongest letters to the President urging my re-appointment. The fob1 owing letter will also, furnish another reason for Ford's change of attitude towards me : (strictly confidential.) Office of the Missouri Democrat, ) McKee, Fishback & Co., Prop's., -V St. Louis, February 13th, 1871. ) Friend McDonald; Joyce informs me he leaves to-day for Washington. I send by him a few lines to call your attention to the conversation we had before you left. I have seen Ford but have had no conversation with him. He expressed the greatest suprise at your influence with heads of departments, and was delighted with the manner in which you went into Thompson, talked to members of Congress, etc. You have convinced him (Ford) of a very important fact and he will have full confidence here after. I am very sorry your consolidation plan fell through. Our enemies could have been wiped out completely if you had suc ceeded. *"* * * * * * * * * * * Don't forget our newspapers-here^ Thejmjis^bejupported and the Government is able to do this^ ************ Joyce will report fully. I am yours in haste, Wm. McKee. I received this letter through Joyce while I was in Washington. Its plain language requires Httle 58 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. explanation. In the first paragraph where he says he has seen Ford but has had no conversation, pro ceeding at once to give expressions of Ford, is only an apparent contradiction. His meaning is that he did not converse with Ford concerning the arrange ment made for manufacturing illicit whiskey. While Mr. Ford treated me with much defference after my discovery, hopelessly involving him in the whiskey frauds, and was willing to talk with me about our interests in the illicit whiskey combination, j^eJ_X oould -plainly see that both he and McKee did not place implicit _fio-jifidejLce in jny_^£s^rtionsJhat the ' White House was possessed of all our secrets. To satisfy them thoroughly upon this point I made ar rangements throughBabcock and Joyce tohavethem meet me in Washington for the purpose of having a. personal interview with thaJjassidfint. I wrote to Joyce to see McKee and Ford, and convey to them the wish of Babcock and myself, that they should appear in Washington at their earliest con venience. In proof of this I give the following ex tract from one of Joyce's letters. St. Louis, March 3d, 1871. Dear General; ***********I haye not seen Ford or McKee in regard to going to Wash ington, but will have an interview with them to-day if I cah. Have you had Babcock write them to .proceed to Washing ton? etc. *********** Yours etc., John A. Joyce. Neither of these responded to my invitation so I returned to St. Louis and, urging them to accom- MC'KEE AND F0ED WITH GEANT. 59 pany me, in April, } think, we proceeded to Wash ington together. Before our arrival^ab^ock^being notified of our coming, made arrangements for Mc Kee and Ford to dine at the White House. This they did, but I was not one of the party having de clined so as to allow the President, McKee and Ford to talk the matter over free from the restraint which I was afraid my presence would impose. They returned to me at the Ebbett House about seven o'clock p.m. and informed me that they had passed a most agreeable time with the President, though they had not spoken to him upon pohtics but , had made an engagement to meet him again, in com pany with myseH, at eight o'clock p. m. At the ap pointed hour we visited the White House, when, after saluting Mrs. Grant, in company with the President we retired to the Blue Eoom and spent a long while thoroughly canvassing the political issues in the West, and particularly our.s.cheme for' -crjejJaB^a-C.ampaig^feiu«a4i The President distinctly informed both Mr. Ford and Mr. McKee. that he had intrusted certain matters to me, that he under stood everything, and that whatever we wanted would be forthcoming upon request. Mr. McKee then told the President that the quartermaster in charge of the Government -stores at St. Louis might be dispensed with and the interests of the party promoted by the appointment of a more in fluential working Eepublican. The President re pHed : * ' Wejl^ame^aurj^ nap and haye^jjjj^fipeiBted.'' Mr. McKee then named" MaJTETB . Grimes, who was then stationed in the extreme West, as the successor. 60 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. ' The following day McKee, Ford and myself called on Secretary Belknap, who upon our entrance re marked: "What do you feUows want; another quartermaster at St. Louis, eh? I understand that you are in control of matters out West, and what I can do, which I presume is not much, will be done with promptness . ' ' McKee and Ford returned to St. Louis highly dehghted with their visit, and fully satisfied that they had harbored a most unjust suspicion against me, which they tried to atone for by giving me their implicit confidence thereafter. McKee and Ford are both dead, and therefore unable to give their testimony, either in corrobora tion or denial of this plain, unvarnished statement. I am sorry that the record of men who have made their final accounting with life, must be used to their discredit, and but for the truth of history which circumstances force me to disclose, no power could induce me to unseal my Hps. To the living, however, there is due a certain regard for their peace of mind, and to sacrifice the Hving for the dead would be as unholy as to make a peace offering of the innocent. What I here declare is a solemn assertion resting upon my honor and the pride that is stiU left me, not a mite of which have I ever forfeited. In future chapters I will give let ters concerning both these men, furnishing positive proof of my statements. The foUowing letter furnishes what I will call- very strong presumptive proof, of the general under standing had between the President, Babcock, poyce and myself in the management of our peeu- FINDING A MAN WHO CAN. 61 Har interests in St. Louis ; this leter bears the same date as the one last quoted : St. Louis, March 3d, 1871. Dear General : ********* Now I want you to put in your best licks for our mutual friend, Avery, who is in every sense fitted for the vacancy. I believe you have influence enough with Col. Thomson and Pleasanton to have him appointed. Il..you_caalLd_0| the thing ^jlpurself yrvnnpr1 -&**£¦ v M»-"- who , "flp- — 'Avery is our friend and we want as many of his sort as we can get. You might have Gen. Babcock speak to Pleasanton in Avery's, behalf. Ford wants you to come back, etc. ********* Yours truly, John A. Joyce. There was an understanding in the appointment of Avery which is plainly apparent in the above letter, and which subsequent events abundantly proved. The phrase " You can find a Man who can " referred to President Grant. In the disclosures, and connections of individuals with the Eing, the name of John W. Douglass has only been mentioned as a faithful executive officer, performing aU'the duties as Commissioner of Inter nal Eevenue. It will astonish many when I declare that he, too, was weU acquainted with the Eing organization, and was, in fact, appointed to his position through our influence, and that he ren dered efficient aid in promoting our interests. The following letters will furnish the necessary evidence connecting him with the Eing. They explain themselves, the first being written to me while I was in Washington : 62 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. St. Louis, Aug. 16th, 1871. Dear General : ********* I had a talk with Ford this morning. He wrote a strong letter to the President in behalf of Mr. Douglass. I have just finished a letter to Douglass, in your name, inclosing a copy of Ford's letter, and I know that Douglass will be tickled away down into his boots. ********* Yours, etc., John A. Joyce. The foUowing letter I received after my return to St. Louis : Treasury Department, ) Internal Bevenue Bureau. >- Washington, Aug. 21st, 1871. ) My Dear Sir : Your letter of August 16th has just be"en received with very great pleasure. I feel truly grateful for its complimentary congratulations. I am also much obliged for your kindness in offering to give me your warm and valued support in the Senate. I hope you are not mistaken in the good opinion you Yl f)l (\ sfs sfc sje s|e s(e sje Please thank Mr. Ford for his letter to the President and for the kindly interest in my behalf, also to Col. Joyce, etc. ********* Very truly yours, J. W. Douglass. Hon. John McDonald. The following letter, when thoroughly understood, establishes the guilty knowledge of Commissioner Douglass, and also the venal understanding of Brasher, the revenue agent. (private.) Cincinnati, Oct. 21st, 1871. Gen. McDonald: Dear Sir: As I desire, particularly, to spend a short time in Kansas, I should be very glad to be ordered to report to BEASHEE'S APPLICATION FOE LEISUEE 63 you for special duty, without at all interfering with your pres ent arrangements. Com. Douglass will order me to you as soon as he learns it will be agreeable to you, If my coming will occasion you any inconvenience, I shall be glad to hear from you to that effect, that I may make my arrangements accordingly. I presume you have heard from Mr. Douglass on this subject. Very truly yours, B. P. Brasher. The import of this letter is readily explained. The distillers had just begun their illicit work, and the appearance of a revenue agent would, naturally, create much alarm ; in addition to this, in the earlier existence of the Eing, the distillers did not knowj that the Washington officials were participants in! the combination, but presumed that the criminal! knowledge was confined to St. Louis members. " Hoping that this visit would not interfere with my arrangements," had reference to this fact. Another matter was provided for by the words, "If my coming wiU occasion you no inconvenience," etc., in that, there might be enemies, who had dis- discovered some irregularities; some discharged employe, or others, who had obtained such knowl edge, who, seeing a revenue agent in my district, might insist upon an investigation. The result of his apphcation was a permission to visit Kansas, where he remained some time, pre sumably occupying his time practicing the best manner of enjoying an elegant leisure. I herewith append a correspondence, the date of which is out of place here, but its immediate apph cation as a proof of Douglass' thorough knowledge of the whiskey frauds being perpetrated in my dis- 64 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. trict, is conclusive, and, therefore, proper in this connection : St. Louis, Mo.,JfaneJJadd that my client, if absolved, will, upon request of Commissioner Delano, lay the matter before him in person — the expense of the trip to be that of the Government. I need not mention that it is most desirable to keep these matters secret until the Government has fully investigated the matter, as any other course would defeat the ends of justice. Aside from this, I do not want to do any injury to any of the, parties, or do them any injustice.- This can only be avoided by keeping the matter quiet until the Government is ready to make arrests. Truly yours, Jesse B. Woodward. St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 19, 1874. Hon. J. W. Douglass, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir :— I returned yesterday, and find that there has been considerable change in the situation since I was in Wash ington. ********** THE WOODWAED COBEESPONDENCE. 67' Concannon complains to us if the department had a skillful agent here to protect him he would tell all he knows. He has been open in his expressions to Mr. Downs, and is exceedingly anxious to break the new Ring, although such action may un cover the operations of McDonald, Maguire & Co. Mr. r- is in straits in respect to his property, and if protected will, I am assured, expose not only the old. hut new combinations as-welL He is a man of good character and his testimouy will go far toward the conviction of the old and new Ring. The distilleries that are running are working at this time their full capacity and with the knowledge of Maguire & Co. They are open aiid defiant, and say tnat they have their support in the administration at Washington and will not be injured. Please advise me if the government proposes to move in the premises. If the government will act, I will guarantee that the guilt of those named can be established by competent testimony, and brought to a realizing sense of the law which they so flagrantly violate. If desired, I have reason to believe that two of the leading Journals in this city will open the ball upon my suggestion, and bring these government officers to their feet. This, in event the administration does not care to take the responsibil ity of moving first in the premises. Trusting to hear from you soon I remain your obedient ser vant. Jesse^B. Woodward. Treasury Department, ) Office of Internal Revenue, [¦ Washington, Sept. 5, 1874. ) Sir.: Your letter of the 19th uit., in regard to " Ring " affairs, as you designated them, was duly received. You remember that when I saw you here I said to you that the matter should be referred to the United States District 68 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Attorney. You objected to this, urging that his interest was such that you would not trust him with the management of the business. I replied that I had to use the present prosecut ing officers provided by the government and would be obliged to do so until they ware changed for others, and that your course was to show the proper department that the present district attorney was unfit, and thus endeavor to secure a bet ter one, and that your unwillingness to lay the evidence, what ever it was, before the district attorney, rendered this officer powerless to act. On the strength of your former letters I sent a special agent to you in St. Louis to get information, but he returned, having seen you, and investigated the allegations for several days, without obtaining anything upon which to base official action. Whenever you can feel assured that the instruments pro vided by law for the detection and punishment of these crimes alleged are trustworthy, I shall gladly co-operate with -you ; until then I do not see what more this office n do in the matter. Respectfully, J. W. Douglass, Com'r. St= Louis, Sept. 15, 1874 Dear Sir : Your letter of the Eth inst. (1 B. 77) received, and in view of what has passed, I feel compelled to explain that Mr. Hinds stated to me that he was expected to return in one week, which arrangement would give him but two or three days in St. Louis ; that he knew nothing of the internal rev enue law in respect to distillers and, therefore, refused point blank to make any personal investigation, for the reason that he would be unable to determine as to whether a particular case was a violation of the law ; that he did not know what he was sent here for, as by reason of his unfamil- , iarity with the law and modes of stealing, he could be of no service. For fuller exposition I copy a letter to me now in my possession as follows : " When Mr. Hinds, agent for the THE WOODWAED COEEESPONDENCE. 69 government, came here, I was with him nearly all the time, and gave him information where irregularities were being car ried on, both in stills and rectifying houses, and urged him to go with me and see a certain house that was then mashing four times the amount of grain their permit allowed ; that the gauging was performed by boys, the gauger being absent and holding a position in the office of the Globe while ostensibly filling that of the government. I requested him to submit to an interview with the internal revenue officer in respect to these and other frauds. This he declined, assigning as a reason for his refusal, that he knew nothing of the law, and if irregularities were developed he would do nothing ; that he had no instructions or authority to make any examinations of houses, and he hardly knew what he • was sent here for. He told Hon. Erastus Wells the same, and on leaving stated that he had all the information he thought necessary to have." In this connection permit me to call your attention to the fact, that information of Hind's arrival here was received by me from an attorney for the whiskey ring, which attorney gave me his name and the purpose of his visit, and described him accurately. This fact being brought home to Mr. Hinds he ex pressed great surprise, and I will do him the justice to say that I have no thoughts that the information came from that source. It is quite singular that the members of the Ring boast openly of their acts, and say they are too strong, solid, to be broken, and furtherlthat you are a member] "' I have not asked, and do not ask, that Mr. Patrick be re moved ; what I ask is that, without his or the Ring's know ledge, one or more experienced detectives, familiar with the whiskey business be employed, and that no case be submitted to him until the chain of evidence is complete. Then he will be compelled to prosecute or fall. I can designate two men, and, if employed, I will guarantee not only the exposure but conviction of the first government officials of this city. Truly yours, Jesse B. Woodward, 70 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Our efforts to have Douglass appointed Commis sioner of Internal Eevenue were successful, and everything was then secure for practical operations and, as previously stated, in September foUowing the distiUeries throughout the district begun to run crooked. The next letter indicating the direction of the zephyrs, in the beginning of the iUicit distilling, reads as foUows : St. Louis, Sept. 19, 1871. Dear General: * * * * * * *,* * * * I had a talk with McKee and Ford this morning and they are pleased with the last move. Mr. M. left for New York last evening after satisfying all at this end of the avenue. ##### ##** Get all the facts you can regarding Sehurz, and bring them home for campaign consumption. Yours in the Faith, John A. Joyce. The last move referred to as pleasing Ford and McKee was the appointment of Douglass, there be ing a thorough understanding between us all with Douglass that he was to perform his duties with special regard to the interest of the Eing. The party referred to as "M." was Con. Magrue, who had just then assumed the management of the Eing. Carl Schurz was an enemy of Grant's and one of the obligations of the Whiskey Combination was to fight him to the death if possible, CHAPTEE II. Reducing the Number of Supervisors — My Appointment as One of the Ute Commission — The Demand for my Re-ap pointment as Supervisor — Chester H. Krum's Endorse ment — President Grant's Endorsement — Proofs of Bab- pock's Connection with the Ring — My Re-appointment as Supervisor — Casey, the President's Brother-in-Law — Ford's Death— Appointment of Maguire as Collector — Babcock's Instrumentality — Telegrams from Grant and Babcock — Visit of Revenue Agents — Brasher Blackmails the Distillers. Jha.,wh^lsjifjlih£..Eing were fcept wjeJLoiled, and nothing interfered to mar the1 smooth tenor of our purposes until Congress, by an act passed during the preceding winter, arid which took effect August 1st, 1872, J^islaisd>aU--tfee*-Su^ervisors.out of-offiea.. Up to this time the law provided for the appoint ment of twenty-five Supervisors by the Secretary of the Treasury, but after this new law went into effect another act passed Congress providing for the ap pointment of ten Supervisors by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The change therefore consisted in a reduction of the number of Supervisors, and transferred the power of appoint- 72 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. ment from the Secretary of the Treasury to the President. About six weeks previous to the expiration of my office by limitation of the act. referred to, I went to Washington and had an interview with the Presi dent. At this meeting I told him that in the ap pointment of the ten Supervisors under the new act, if he consulted my wishes, he would leave me out. I explained to him the pressure that would be exerted for the place, and assured him that my desire was to enter the campaign actively in his behalf; that out of office my influence would-be greater and I could work more persistently. The President's reply was that his preference would be to have me remain in the service. Leaving the matter in this shape, I returned to St. Louis, and when my office expired, the President, finding himself overrun with applicants for Super visor, and the political pressure of officials being almost irresistible, yielded to my wishes and omitted my name in his list'of new appointments. Imme diately thereafter, however, I was appointed as one of the Commission, composed of Gov. Edwin M. McCook, then Governor of Colorado, Hon. Jno. D. Long, of Maine, and myseh, to treat with the Ute Indians for a reHnquishment of their reservation in Colorado to the Government. While absent performing my duties as one of the Commission, there was a general demand made for my re-appointment, engineered by Mr. McKee and others. The prime cause for this desire was in the ambition of the old members to continue the opera tions of the Eing. Through these efforts the State judge keum's endoesement. 73 Central Committee of Missouri, of which Hon. Henry T. Blow was chairman, prepared and for warded to President Grant a series of reasons why I should be re-appointed. Among the large number of written requests was the foUowing, the signer of which bitterly opposed my first appointment, and who will figure more prominently in this history hereafter : Eastern District of Missouri, J U. S. Attorney's Office, >¦ St. Louis, July 26th, 1872. ) Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury. Sir: — Having seen, in the telegraphic news of yesterday, that Supervisor John McDonald has not been retained in office under the recent consolidation, I take this occasion to express my regret that it has been deemed expedient and proper to make a change in this Department. Soon after having been appointed, to my present position, an effort was made to add Missouri to the district of Supervisor McDonald. I opposed this change, and joined in a remon strance. But the change was made, and since that time I have had abundant opportunity to satisfy myself that it was for the benefit of the Internal Revenue service. Supervisor McDonald has been, to my personal knowledge, an active and efficient officer. He has placed me under obligations for valuable aid rendered me in the discharge of the duties of my office. He has always been ready and willing — more than that — solicitous to secure a prompt and vigorous enforcement of the Revenue Laws in the Judicial dis trict. Aside from the fact that Supervisor McDonald has been a competent officer, it is equally true that his large acquaintance in this State renders him especially valuable to the Republican party, as a powerful adherent for the coming campaign. I trust that this communication will not be regarded as officious, but as truthfully stating not only my own views, but those of many influential men, with whom I have conferred 74 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. since the announcement of the change in the Supervisor's office. Without the request or suggestion of the Supervisor, I have given him this letter as a sincere expression of my conviction that the proposed change can secure no beneficial result. I have the honor to be your obedient serv't, Chester H. Krum, U. S. Attorney. After this paper reached the department, Presi dent Grant wrote on the back of the endorsement the following : 1 Bespectfully forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury: The dispatches and letters received in favor of Sup'r Mc- )onald are so numerous, and from people of such standing and Responsibility, that I do not know but that his name had not oetter be substituted for retention in place of -Emory's, or any Dther who you may think can be best spared. U. S. Grant. Aug. 1st, '72. In blue ink the foUowing : Vice Cobb, H. S. R. [A fac-simile of this endorsement is found on the opposite page.] The extraordinary language and bad grammar used in the President's note, on the back of Krum's endorsement, wiU excite comment, but the note is in Grant's own handwriting, and the errors are therefore his own. Among the other requests for my re- appointment was the following telegram : St. Louis, July 25th, 1872. To Gen. Jno. McDonald, Ripon, Wisconsin. Ford gone West. The thing is done. Telegram sent Presi dent. (Signed) J. A. Joyce. ¦ This telegram was a notification that Col. Ford . had sent a personal request to the President to have me re-appointed. t<^U^y~ c^~- f^r-r^ *7 &*4L, *~ <&&*. 4t^- _«, difiiTnonrl ^r^-f4wj^ which we gave to Babcock during his visit to St. Louis, the preceding spring. _This,..pne of our jrjjjny-pxeseaats, to our Wa&fckigton. friend, weighed nearly four_carets.,.,ajidcjBojtfe^2,^00. There was a flaw in the stone, however, which I had not discov ered, arid the General, not being very well pleased on that account, I took the stone back and pur chased another and finer one for him. " The things he had to teU me, and his talk with the President," consisted of assurances which per mitted the Eing to operate freely, without danger of prosecution. The reference to "Billy" and " Holt," was an announcement that Billy, or W. O. Avery, had been transferred from the position of chief clerk of the Internal Eevenue Bureau, to that of chief clerk of the Treasury Department, which for- former position was suppHed by the appointment of Col. Holt. Both of these men were thoroughly identified with the Eing's interests, as the appoint ments were both made at our special request. With this change, and new understanding, Joyce was jus tified in issuing his request to "Let the machine go." A report obtained currency some time in the lat ter part of August, that St. Louis would soon be visited by another revenue agent, and hearing nothing from Washington, I had Joyce send the - foUowing telegram : St. Louis, Aug. 26th, 1874. - Col. W. O. Avery, Chief Clerk Treasury Department, Wash ington.Are ffienda coming west? See H. (Holt), and give me sound ings. (Signed) "A," 94 SECRETS OF THE GBEAT WHISKEY EING. To this dispatch there was no answer, and fearing ithat Avery's induction into an office in which his superior (Sec'y. Bristow), was then making efforts, or, at least contemplating measures that would expose the Whiskey Eing, had resulted in a contra riwise influence, and that he was afraid to give us the information we desired, Joyce sent him a letter, in which the foUowing sentence occurred: \(The exact date of this letter I am unable to give from memory, and we rarely retained copies of either letters or telegrams) J "" If you have any doubt of the propriety of sending this information, see Gen. Babcock, or, if he is not in the city, see G." This meant for Avery to repeat his wishes to Bab- cOck or President Grant, and they would furnish the necessary information to us. Upon receipt of this letter, Gen. Babcock being absent from Washington, Col. Avery took it to the President, who, after reading the contents, wrote the foUowing endorsement on the back of the letter. ," tT^yq HiTld M"'n"-llald— ftrn ™»1i"-hV "Tirl t.matwnrthy. Let them have the information they want." (Signed.) U. S. Grant. One of the prime motives\which actuated Col. Avery in going to the President for his endorse ment, was to obtain a color of authority for reveal ing secrets of the Department. He was thoroughly known to the fact that the President was cognizant of aU the tricks of the Whiskey Eing, and was, in fact, a member of it; he also realized that his position was a new one, with which he did not yet have that f amiharity that would hide aU his acts, TELEGRAMS FEOM THE WHITE HOUSE. 95 and his first duty, he felt, was to obtain the confi dence of the Secretary. The reports of intended raids, from revenue offi cers, continued to circulate, which resulted in sev-' eral communications passing between Joyce and the departments. Hinds had left Washington, and his absence created a suspicion that he was about to visit St. Louis. All fears were allayed, however, upon receipt of the foUowing telegram : Washington, Oct. 18th, 1874. J. A. Joyce, St. Louis: - Your friend is in New York, and may come out to see you. (Signed.) Avery. Joyce repHed to this as f oUows : St. Louis, Oct. 18th, 1874. Col. W. O. Avery, Treasury Department, Washington: Give me something positive on the movements of friend. Act surely — prompt. (Signed.) "A." In obedience to the request contained in this tele gram, Avery saw Babcock, with relation to the intentions of revenue agents coining to St. Louis, and on the next day Gen. Babcock sent the foUow ing telegram : Washington, Oct. 19th, 1874. J. A. Joyce, St. Louis: Put your house in order. Your friends will visit you. (Signed.) Mac This telegram was proven, upon his trial, to be in Babcock's handwriting. It was intended to send Hogue into the district, but, owing to illness, he did not come. On the first Monday in October, 1874, the St. Louis Fair opened, with President Grant, Secretary 96 SECEETS OF THE GREAT WHISKEY RING. Borie, and Gen. Babcock in attendance. Grant and Babcock were my guests, at the Lindell Hotel, that fine hostelry having then- been but recently opened. Soon after his arrival in St. Louis, and while engaged with him in conversation at the Lin dell, I reminded the President that, on his previous visits, he always had the use of Col. Ford's team to drive while in the city, but, I added, since our friend is dead, I presume you have been at a loss for the use of such horseflesh as you have been ccustomed to driving. I then told him that I had team, which, while it was not the fastest in the orld, was fair to drive. He responded: " Well, Mac, I never knew you to 6wn a bad horse, and if you have a pair of serviceable roadsters I'll use them to-morrow, by driving them [down to my farm, and if they have speed I will gladly accept the use of them while here." On the following day I had the team hitched up and drove them around to the hotel for the Presi dent. Before he got into the buggy, I said to him : You may find them a little slow at first, but you can touch them up a little with the whip, and when you get weU out on the. Gravois road, tighten the reins, and I don't think you wiU have any trouble getting four minutes out of them. ,, He then stepped into the buggy, with Secretary'; Borie beside him. They drove out to the farm, : twelve miles from St. Louis, and remained absent until evening. I received the team after his return, and taking them to the stable, a short time afterwards, in company with my wife, I caUed socially at the LindeU, arid met there Col. Joyce GEN. U. S. GRANT. THE PRESIDENT'S EIDE BEHIND MY TEAM. 99 and his wife, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Borie, and a number of others. Secretary Borie came up to me, and, placing his hand familiarly on my shoulder, re marked: "General, I never had a finer ride in my Hfe than to-day, behind your horses, and the Pres ident is in ecstacy over them." Just then President Grant greeted me and said : " Ma"k,.J-3iexM^_ga.w-h<^f>Ar.hori;iaa-} why, when we got out on the road they would'nt take the whip, for when I drew the Hnes they went Hke a shot out of a gun. You should have seen Mr. Borie; he drew his feet under the seat, pressed his hat over his eyes, and, while he clenched the buggy-bow with one hand and the seat with the other, he would every moment ask me if I did'nt think the horses were running away." In a moment after wards he added : "I would Hke to own those hors-^ es, and if you wiU sell them I will give you $1,000 for them." I replied :. General, I don't want to swindle you in that way. But I used the word 'swindle' in an ironical manner, for $5,000 would'nt have bought them. He then told me that he had seen some very fine horses at the Fair, owned by Mr. Dorsey, of Ken- tuckey, a pair of which he thought of buying at the price fixed by the owner, $1,500. We joked about the horses for some time, but, before leaving him that evening, I told the Presi dent the team was at his service during his stay in St. Louis, and that I hoped he would find much pleasure in them. His deHght was manifested by their almost constant use, on several mornings going to the stable himself after the horses. Seeing that the 100 SECRETS OF THE GREAT WHISKEY RING. team was a source of so much pleasure to the Pres- dent, I at length told him that he should have thfls&i lij&am** I ascertained that he had no handsome ' buggy, so I took it upon myself, as I told him, to procure a rig such as I would buy for my owri orna mental use as weU as for effective service. He thanked me, and declared that nothing would please him so much as such a tribute of my friend ship. Before the President came to St. Louis to visit the Fair, I asked him, in Washington, if he intend ed exhibiting any of his stock. He replied that he had tried to add to the success of the Fair Jby lend ing his presence and entering his stock, but that the Association had never awarded him a single premium, so that hereafter he did not propose to enter any of his.stOck again. I told him that there was nothing personal in the action of the Fair Association, and that it was his duty, having so large a stock-farm in the immediate vicinity of St. Louis, with so many interests in the city, to aid the Fair, and that he ought to enter his prime stock every year. The result of our conversation was his promise to attend the Fair that year and to enter his " Young Hambletonian." When I returned to St. Louis I called on Arthur Barrett, who was then President of the Fair Asso-- ciation, and repeated to him the complaints of the President. Mr. Barrett replied that the reason President Grant had not been given a premium was because his stock had been entered in competition HOW GRANT SECURED A PREMIUM. 101 'with that which was superior, and^h^cxaaMaaiitees-. talking with him awhile he told me that I might b placed on the committee that would award th premiums on stock, and, if I wished to assume th responsibility, the President's stock might secure premium. I secured the position as a member of that com mittee, and when "Young Hambletonian " was entered I told one of the members that there was only one thing I wanted done, obtaining the con sent of the committee to which, I would favor anything else they wished. This one thing was to give the first premium to the President's stallion,1 and, although there were several pre-eminently superior horses in competition, the other members of the committee endorsed my act and awarded the .blue ribbQni^i4foung"Hambi^ The reason for me showing such remarkable and unwarranted preference to the President, in the light of subse-' quent events, is plainly apparent. The following article appeared in the next morn ing's Republican : * * On all occasions there will be found plenty of jpeople to carp and grumble, and the award of the first premium to Grant's "Young Hambletonian" yesterday was no exception. It was largely hinted about the grounds that "the influence of the administration had been powerfully brought to bear to secure the premium, and there were some astute forecasters of political events who saw in it much of this third term mystery; while the New York Herald man—if there was one on the grounds — undoubtedly detected a clear case of Csesarism, and posted off to inform his editorial master, the Westonian Bennett, that "the 'Herald ' sensation had again become a 'Herald ' prophesy." 102 SECRETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. The character of the gentlemen comprising the commitee which made the award is an ample refutation of the charge that the first premium was secured by those appliances which are sometimes brought to bear to depose a chairman of a for eign relations committee of the Senate, or to pull an Arkansas governor out of a state house. At the head of the committee waa Gen. John McDonald, supervisor of internal revenue for this district, while associated with him were a number of gentleman who, though they do not hold any federal offices are still fully as capable of being impartial in any case where the administration is concerned as Gen., McDonald possibly can be. There is no doubt that the award was made with all due deference to the circumstances of the occasion. In other words, it is perfectly clear that the influences which impelled the committee to make the award they did were exercised in the most perfectly proper manner, and without the least regard for anything that was foreign to the object in view. The President and his party returned to Wash ington on the last day of the Fair and shortly after their departure Col. Joyce and myself went to Hob- HtzeUe & Cousland's and purchased from them a complete outfit consisting of harness, two blankets for each horse, and a buggy whip, the cost of the latter being $25. We hacLa^gold bxaas.t~pk^fr"made_. JiojueachJaQr&e, on which the President's name was engraved. The buggy was purchased from Jas. A. Wright, and was the finest he had in stock. All the bills for the harness, buggy, etc., I paid in President Grant's name. In a few weeks after his arrival in Washington I chartered^^speiiiaLaar in which I sent the horses and the handsome outfit to Washington with the compliments of Col. Joyce and myself. While en-route the horses were in the BABCOCK ACKNOWLEDGES EECEIPT OF TEAM. 103 special charge of Nat. Carlin, who was at that time superintendent of the President's farm. Gen. Babcock, the President's private secretary, sent us a very flattering letter acknowledging re4 ceipt of the team and rig, which letter I either gavei to Judge Krum, the attorney who defended Gen. Babcock, and have never been able to recover it, or burned it, among many others. CHAPTEE IV. Col. Joyce as a Revenud&gent — Babcock and Joyce's Intimacy —Babcock Telegraphs that no Agent has been Sent to St. Louis — My Trip to Washington — How I gave Babcock $5,000 — I Give Grant Receipts for the Buggy and Team — I inform Him of My Gift of $5,000 to Babcock— My Ride with the President — He Promises Me that any Changes or Appointments I Desire will be Granted — The Altitudinal Dispatch — Babcock's Sylph Dispatch — Louise Hawkins, the Sylph — How Babcock Took Her to His Bosom — An Interview in the Dark — A Remittance to Babcock in a Cigar Box. Col. Joyce, even after his appointment as-rexeette <4Jgent, remained in my district and continued to acTas my confidential secretary. He was a shrewd, and thoroughly reliable man and withal one of much cunning and spontaneous resource. I entrusted him not only with all my secrets but left the ar rangement of all the details furthering the interests of the Eing, in his hands. He was especially inti mate with Gen. Babcock, and during the visit of the Presidential party in October, Col. Joyce and Gen. Babcock were almost inseparable. They can vassed future contingencies and the need of money by the White House officials. ANOTHEB WASHINGTON REMITTANCE. 105 Very soon after the departure of the President from St. Louis, rumors came to us that a raid was contemplated by revenue officers. Col. Joyce at once wrote Gen. Babcock concerning the rumor but receiving no immediate reply he indicted the foUowing dispatch : St. Louis, Oct. 25, 1874. Gen. O. E. Babcock, Washington. Have you talked with D ? (Douglass) Are things right ? How? Answer. (Signed) J. The report being false Gen. Babcock did not an swer by telegraph but sent Col. Joyce a letter in which he assured him there was no present danger of official interference. In the latter part of November reports were again circulated that revenue agents Brooks and Hogue were en-route to St. Louis to make a search ing investigation. With the alarm such reports invariably excited, Col. Joyce sent the foUowing telegram : St. Louis, Dec. 3, 1874. To Gen. 0. E. Babcock, Washington. Has Secretary or Commissioner ordered anybody here ? (Signed) J. Secretary or Commissioner referred to Bristow and Douglass. To this the foUowing reply was received : Washington, Dec. 5, 1874. To John A. Joyce, St. Louis. Cannot hear that anyone has gone or is going. (Signed) O. E. Babcock On the same day this latter dispatch was received I started for Washington, but on the preceding day Col. Joyce had collected the sum of $5,000, from 106 SECRETS OF THE GREAT WHISKEY EING. ihe distiUers and rectifiers which he requested me ;o deliver to Gen. Babcock, in accordance with the mderstanding had between them, when the latter vas in attendance at the St. Louis Fair. This ; noney, as I saw it counted, was in biUs of the de- lominations of $1,000 and $500. I reached Washington on the morning of Decern; ber 7th, and directly after office hours went to the White House. The first person I met there was Gen. Babcock, whom I found seated at his desk in the Secretary's room, and, after passing the usual greetings I took the money from my pocket and handed it to him, with the remark ^Here is $5,000 which Joyce coUected from the boys for your ben efit just before I left St. LouisJ He took the package and placed it in his pocket without counting the money, with many expres sions of gratitude, remarking that he understood the source from whence the money came. During this time a committee from the two branches of Congress were waiting upon the Presi dent to inform him of the opening of Congress, and their readiness to receive his official communica tions. When the committee left the Executive Chamber, the President foUowed one of the Sena tors to the head of the stairs and there took leave of the committee. I was standing in the ante-room awaiting an opportunity to speak to him,, when he turned about and seeing me, extended a cordial greeting. He asked me how long I would remain in the city, and to call upon him each day while in Wash ington. GEN. O. E. BABCOCK. TURNING OVER THE RECEIPTS TO GRANT. 109 I replied that my stay would be but a few days. He then spoke freely concerning the team and rig I had sent him, saying that his gratitude was unbounded, and pronounced the horses the finest, by far, in Washington. Said I, General, I have some papers in connec tion with the team which, with my explanation, I wish to give you. He asked me to come on the foUowing day at noon, saying he would be at leisure then. I told the President that I had the papers with me and if he could spare a few moments I would give them to him then. He assented, and together we walked into the Executive Eoom where I handed him aU the biUs, which were in his name, for every article Col. Joyce and I had purchased in completing the buggy and outfit, each biU being receipted in fuU. At the same time I asked him to give me a smaU sum of money so as to enable me to say,, if the question were asked, that I sold the team to him. He handed me a $50 bill which I decHned, assuring him that a much less sum would answer my purpose. He next gave me a $10 note and I returned him $7 in change, leaving me with the sum of $Eipr a $6,000 outfit. One-half of- the actual expense of the team, buggy and harness, and the cost of transportation was paid to me by Col, Joyce who united with me in making the present. Having disposed of the receipts and made the President apparently secure from the prying curi osity of newspaper correspondents, who always saw in these gifts stepping-stones to political preference, 110 SECRETS OF THE GREAT WHISKEY RING. we changed our conversation to a discussion of political matters in the West. I told him that I had just given Gen. Babcock $5,000, which, I re marked, is a part of the proceeds of our campaign fund in St. Louis. He assured me it was all right, as he had intrusted Babcock with the details of western matters, and whatever we did with him (Babcock) would be quite satisfactory to all, and. added: " I wiU see to it personally, however, that you get all the changes you want." I then explained to him what an uncompromising " old hog " (as I used the term) McKee was proving himseh to be ; that we were compelled to give him from $500 to $1,200 every week in order to pacify Ihim and keep his paper for us in the coming carn- jpaign. His reply was: " Well, you must do the ' best you can and depend upon me to do aU for you at this end of the line you may require." While we were thus engaged a messenger came and informed the President that his team was at the door waiting for him. He asked me to walk down stairs with him and take a look at the horses. I did so, and showed the hostler how to draw the curb rein to make them drive properly. While we were looking at the horses, Commissioner Douglass came by and spoke to us, but after passing a few remarks, he walked on. President Grant then re quested me to get in and take a drive with him, which I did, going out nearly to Blandensburg, and, returning, making a circuit of the city and driving through all the principal streets. During our ride the conversation recurred to political matters, and chiefly upon his prospects for a third term. He RIDES WITH GRANT AND BABCOCK. Ill mentioned the names of several parties who, he thought, would possibly be candidates. Among these were Gov. Morgan, of New York, Morton, Conklin, Logan, and Blaine, the latter being then Speaker of the House. He criticised each of these and appeared satisfied that his chances were much better than were those of the parties discussed. Upon our return from the ride I went back to the White House with the President, and, while the colored attendants were brushing our clothes, a messenger-boy informed me that Gen. Babcock was m his office and wished to see me. I left the Pres ident in the reception room and went up stairs, where I met Gen. Babcock alone. He first asked me if I had talked freely with the President in rela tion to appointments out West and the arrange ments generally in my district. I replied that I had, and that the President promised to make any appointments or changes of officers I desired. I asked him what Brooks and Hogue were doing or were going to do. His answer was that he did not know, but would find out on the following day and advise me. He assured me that he was not going to allow them to go to St. Louis on a " blackmail ing trip," as, said he, " we want all the money you can raise now ourselves." Another subject on which we conversed related to Garfield's connection with the District of Columbia Eing. Babcock's carriage came for him while we were talking, and he asked me to ride over to the green houses with him, which I did. I selected, by his 112 SECRETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY RING. permission, a number of rare and valuable plants, which he had shipped to my wife at my country seat, Sunny Side, Wisconsin. He then drove me to my hotel, and- after parting with him, I sent the appended dispatch : Washington, Dec. 7th, 1874. Col. Jno. A. Joyce, St. Louis: Had long ride with the President this afternoon. B. and H. are here. You will hear from me to-morrow. (Signed) John. On the next day I caUed to see Commissioner Douglass, and told him not to send anyone into my district, for a visit now would injure us very much. I also saw and talked with Baboock, H. C. Eogers, deputy commissioner, and Avery. I very plainly told Eogers that I thought he, Brooks, arid Hogue were in coUusion to blackmail St. Louis distillers, and that if he sent revenue agents into my district I should report him at the White House. The re sult was that they promised me no agents should go to St. Louis, and assured me there were no grounds for suspicion. Having received this assur ance, which was very necessary, as at that time every distiUery was running day and night turning out iUicit whiskey, I sent the foUowing dispatch: Washington, Dec. 8th, ,1874. J. A. Joyce, St. Louis: Dead dog. The goose hangs altitudinal. The sun shines. (Signed) John. My fears of this blackmaUing visit were caused by the following letter, which was handed to me^ by Col. Holt, who asked me to let Gen. Babcock read it ; THE SYLPH TELEGEAM. 113 New York, Nov. 21st, 1874. To H. C. Rogers, Deputy Commissioner, Washington: My Dear Sir: — I am summoned to appear in cases in court in Philadelphia on Monday, the 23d. The cases will probably be disposed of on that day, so that I can be at Washing ton on Tuesday, I think. If possible, please have Hogue there at that time, and may I ask that any Western cases may be put in such a shape that we can take charge of them, and so make the trip profitable to the department and satisfactory to ourselves. (Signed) James J. Brooks, Special Agent. I took this lettter to Commissioner Douglass and showed him how the scheme to rob us out West was developing ; then I handed it to Babcock, and by him it was shown to the President. On the 10th I left for St. Louis, leaving everything in the hands of Babcock, instructing him to telegraph me in case he succeeded in preventing the coming of the revenue agents, or if Bristow persisted in sending them. Immediately upon my arrival home the foUowing dispatch was sent by Babcock (a fac simile of which is given) : Washington, Dec. 13th, 1874. Gen. John McDonald, Supervisor, St. Louis: I succeeded. They will not go. Will write you. (Signed) Sylph. A great deal of speculation has been indulged in by the public concerning the signature 'ySylphJ' The explanation is very important, and even at this day wiU, doubtless, be read with much interest. On Wednesday evening, during the visit of Gen. Babcock to the St. Louis Fair, he and Col. Joyce were walking down Fifth street, on their way to my office from the LindeU Hotel. When they BABCOCK AND THE LUSCIOUS SYLPH. 115 were. between OHve and Pine streets, Gen. Babcock/ observed a beautiful young lady approaching them J and was most agreeably surprised to see Col. Joycq tip his hat to her in graceful recognition. It is true that the General was popularly appreciative, be cause she was unquestionably the handsomest woman in St. Louis. Her form was petite, and yet withal, a plumpness and development which made . her a being whose tempting, luscious deliciousness was irresistible. Most beautiful of face, with eyes of deepest azure, in whose depths, the sun-beams seemed to gather, and the fires of love from flames of flickering constancy, seemed ever and anon to melt into love itself. Her hair was like threads of gold and silver blended, and when she loosed her locks they fell Hke the shimmer of sunlight, and quivered like the glamor the moon throws on the water. She was the essence of grace, distilled from the buds of perfection, and with a tongue on which the oil of vivacity and seduction never ceased running; she was, indeed, a sylph and syren, whose presence was like the flavor of the poppy mingled with the perfumes of Araby. After passing the "Sylph,"Gen. Babcock, with enraptured eyes and anxious breath, impatiently enquired of Col. Joyce who the exquisite beauty was, remarking at the same time : " She is the most bewitching and beautiful creature I ever saw; for heaven's sake, let us turn the corner and meet her again, so that you can give me an introduction." Col. Joyce has an almost national reputation for his bric-a-brac quotations, and an apt and elegant passage from some popular poet or orator is always 116 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. waiting to sHp from his tongue. Upon this occa sion he could not restrain his nature, and with an iUumination on his countenance, as a preface to his reply, he repeated a poem, written by a pastoral Kentucky poet, the first lines of which are as f oUows : Her Sylph-like form, her beauty and her grace, She floats hke a seraph on the light wings of space," etc. The General was very much pleased with the rythmical recitation, but his impatience grew more intense. The Colonel, to relieve his companion's anxiety, answered him by saying: " My dear General, keep strictly cool ; it would not be the proper thing to meet the lady again and introduce you on the street, but if you will excuse me a short while I will see her and arrange an appointment by which you can greet the Sylph within the next hour or two." With this, having secured the approval of the Gen eral, Col. Joyce turned and followed the woman while Babcock continued on to riry office. Directly after dark, Col. Joyce and the " Sylph" stepped into Freund's restaurant, on the corner of Fifth and Pine streets, immediately under my office, and caUed for a bottle of wine and while drinking and chatting, according to an understanding con veyed to Gen. Babcock, the anxious Private Secre tary dropped in and was warmly greeted by Col. Joyce, who, with an eclat for which the Colonel was distinguished, arose from his chair and bowing gracefully, said : "Miss Hawkins, this is my par ticular friend, Gen. Babcock, from Washington. Sit down, General, and have some wine with us." Then there was a cheerful flow of conversation for SYLPH. BABCOCK AND HIS LOVELY SYLPH. 119 some time until a ripe acquaintance was established after which, by invitation of Col. Joyce, who had a key to my office and also to my private rooms, the party went up stairs and shortly afterwards the Colonel returned to the street, leaving the Generall and his luscious companion together in my roomsy I met Col. Joyce on the sidewalk as he descended from the stairs and, as I knew nothing of the Gen eral's present occupation, I was easily persuaded to take a bottle of wine with the Colonel at Gregory's, and thus I was unconsciously prevented from in truding upon the devotions of two loving souls. The fuU name of this woman, who after this meeting Gen. Babcock ever afterwards caUed his " Sylph," was Louise Hawkins, famiharly calleLLu. She was born in St. Louis, but her father dying, leaving her mother in very poor circumstances, the family moved to a small town on the Illinois Cen tral Eailroad, in Southern Illinois. When Lu. was fourteen years of age she feU in love with a young fellow who accompHshed her ruin, which being dis covered by her mother, Lu. left home and went to St. Louis, where she found employment with Wm. Barr & Co., as a seamstress. Her extraordinary beauty would not permit her to long remain in such a menial position, and from a seamstress, clothed in the garbs of humble circumstances, she soon devel oped into a lady of leisure, clad in the purple of fine linen and decked with jewels rare and beautiful. She is still a resident of St. Louis, and though un married, yet her every want is promptly adminis tered to by a wealthy gentleman of the city in whose elegant residence near Grand Avenue, she is queen. 120 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY RING. -This is the origin of the signature attached to some of Babcock's and Joyce's confidential tele grams, arid the explanation here given will explode many conjectures made by astute correspondents. Shortly after my return to St. Louis, in December 1874, 1 told Col. Joyce that it would be well to rriake another smaU contribution to the President and Gen. Babcock. To do this we procured a box of the finest cigars we could find and enclosed in the pox with the cigars a $1,000 biU, which we sent by 'express addressed to Geri. Babcock'. In due time, Col. Joyce received a letter from Babcock acknowl edging receipt of the cigars with enclosure, to which was added a few Hnes to the effect that " we," refer ring to Grant and himself, " enjoyed the exceUent flavor of those cigars." CHAPTEE V. Bristow Decides Upon a Change of Supervisors — How I In fluenced Grant to Countermand*the Order — Joyce's Dis patch to Babcock — Joyce's Song, " Mrs. Carney " — Pros pects of a Storm — Babcoqk's Report of Bristow's Inclina tions — Hogue Blackmails the Distillers Out of $10,000 — Fishback's Visit to Washington — How I was Appealed to by Fishback for a Loan — Babcock Puts a Spy on Fishback — Agent Yaryan Visits St.-Louis. On the 26th of January, 1875, Mr. Jitisto-W, who had circulated suspicions that the Government was being defrauded out of the revenue on whiskey manufactured in several large cities in the country, decided to inaugurate an investigation by ordering a change-of- supervisors, so that frauds would un doubtedly appear, because of the lack of understand ing between the distillers and the new officials ; or, if the-re were any honest supervisors, they would readily detect the manner in which the frauds were being perpetrated. Let me remark, however, that every one engaged in the ilhcit whiskey frauds, knew that Bristow's investigation meant something ; that he was exceedingly anxious to ferret out the guilty parties and bring them to punishment ; hence, 122 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY 5*&G. every act of his was watched with painful interest, and we were compeUed to use the fuU influence of the President to keep Bristow from enforcing orders which would be certain to expose the Eing and every member of it. When this order for a change of supervisors was issued (to take effect Feb, 15th), by which I should have been transferred to Philadelphia, I reaHzed the necessity of having it countermanded at once, to accomplish which, I sent the foUowing dispatch : St. Louis, Feb. 3d, 1875. Hon. J. W. Douglass, Internal Revenue Office, Washington: Don't hke the order ; it will damage the Government and injure the administration. Will explain when I see you. John McDonald. On the day after I transmitted this telegram, I sent Col. Joyce to Washington to influence the counter manding of the order, but before his departure I was gratified by the receipt of the foUowing telegram : Washington, Feb. 4th, 1875. Gen. Jno. McDonald, St. Louis : The order transferring you to Philadelphia is suspended un til further orders. (Signed) J. W. Douglass, Commissioner. Immediately after receiving this, the foUowing dispatch was repeated to me over the wires, which showed me at once the cause for the unexpected telegram from the Commissioner : Executive Mansion, Washington, Feb. 4th, 1875. J. W. Douglass, Internal Revenue Office. Sib : — The President directs me to say that he desires that the circular order, transferring Supervisors of Internal Reve nue, be suspended, by telegraph, until further orders. __ (Signed) Levi P. Lucket. \ (Note.— Luckcy was Assistant Secretary to the President.) COUNTEEMAKDING THE TEAN'SFEE OEDEE. 123 Upon receipt of this Col. Joyce, before departing, sent the foUowing dispatch : St. Louis, Feb. 4th, 1875. To Gen. O. E. Babcock, Washington : We have official information that the enemy weakens. Push things. (Signed) Sylph. Col. Joyce then left for Washington for the pur pose of seeing the President, and our friends there, with relation to the order. The President sus pended the order that we might have the necessary time to straighten our crooked affairs, but con cluded, at that time, to permit the transfer order to go into effect when we should inform him that affairs would permit it without exposure. But we had aU things in such excellent working condition in St. Louis that I was anxious to avoid a change. It was with this understanding Col. Joyce started for Washington and, while en-route, the train on which he was a passenger met with some delays, creating some anxiety, which was explained by the foUowing dispatch : Gen. Jno. McDonald, St. Louis : Six hours late. Watch Tweed's crowd. Work wires with B. , (Signed) Carney. - Tweed's crowd referred to Bristow's actions, and working the wires with B, meant for me to keep myself posted by wire through Babcock. After his arrival in Washington, Col. Joyce went direct to the President and to Gen. Babcock, and to them explained the situation and the views I entertained, as here indicated. After receiving 124 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. their assurances that all our wishes- should be respected, even at the expense of Bristow's serious displeasure, Col. Joyce sent me the foUowing dis patch : Washington, Feb. 6th, 1875. Gen. Jno. McDonald, St. Louis : Order busted forever. D. and Company mad. Hold things level. (Signed) Carney. The signature of "Carney," was used here with an understanding. Col. Joyce was frequently caUed "Carney" by his intimate friends, who had given him the name on account of a song he very frequently sang, entitled "Mrs. Carney." D. and Co., used in the despatch, referred to Douglass and Bristow. The anomalous position occupied by Mr. Douglass, as a member and enemy of the Eing, wiU be explained hereafter. Col. Joyce remained in Washington a few days in order to discover the drift of Bristow's contempla ted action ; but being assured that nothing further would be done, he wrote me the foUowing letter : • Ebbitt House, Washington, D. C, Feb'y 8th, 1875. Deab General: I have seen and talked to Douglass and Rogers, and, while they are all smiles to my face, there is surely an undercurrent of vengeance that is unexplainable to me. I can assure you that the late ord-er transferring Supervisors was gotten up and promulgated for the main purpose of striking the St. Louis district. The President ordered the order revoked, and you can bet that the Commissioner (Douglass) and Secretary (Bristow) owe no love to yoir or Munn (the Supervisor at Chicago). I am not, at this late day, going to put myself in the hands of Rogers or Douglass. They now speak of transferring Hed- HOGUE 'S SUCCESSFUL BLACKMAIL. 125 rick, (who is here), into your district, and if that fails, which it will, they will possibly send Fulton, SewelL or Brooks and Hogue into our district. The Commissioner has poisoned the Secretary (Bristow) and they have both tried to poison Grant, but he wont drive in their wagon worth a d — n. It is a h — 1 of a lick on Douglass to revoke the order. I was up at Gen. Babcock's last night and had a long chat. He has seen Bristow and the Secretary talks fair, but we can not trust those who are not with us. Hold things level for the present. The storm may blow over entirely. Anyhow we have to beat it. Watch the St. Louis crowd. Yours, John. His anxiety to have me watch the St. Louis crowd meant to see to it that there was no iUicit whiskey made until the effort at an investigation had entirely subsided. The next dispatch was received in the afternoon' two days later, and was as f oUows : Washington, Feb'y 10th, 1875. Gen. John McDonald, St. Louis: Start home to-night. Things look lovely. Watch and wait. (Signed) John. Some time in February, I think, in 1875, Hogue, the revenue agent, made another trip to St. Louis, and after making some investigations, found consid erable crookedness ; to suppress the report which he threatened to make, the distillers hastUy contribu ted to him the sum of jj£l 0/100. This visit was made without the knowledge or authority of any of the Washington officials, but was conceived for the sole purpose of blackmaU. In the testimony of Alfred Bevis, a distiUer, given in the trial of W. O. 126 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. Avery, he stated that the money was given Hogue chiefly "because he was a good fellow," but the purpose is too transparent. Notwithstanding the favorable turn affairs had taken at Washington, yet there was a feeling of great dread, because I was sure that Bristow was determined to pusl>his investigation by some adroit means. In the early part of March I ascertained that Geo. W. Fishback, formerly proprietor of the Mis souri Democrat, was in Washington, and my sus picions were aroused that his visit was in the capacity of an informer. My reasons for entertain ing such an idea were- based upon a circumstance which transpired some time previously, to which I must direct the reader's attention. It was pretty generaUy known in St. Louis that just prior to the absorption of the Democrat by the Globe, the pro prietors of the former were often in sore straits for the necessary money to continue the publication of the paper. In one of these impecunious moments Mr. Fishback came to my room at the Planters House, and, after a little preliminary conversation, introduced the object of his visit. He explained to me the financial embarrassment from which his paper suffered and urged me to loan him the sum of $5,000 for ninety days, in consideration of which he proffered me the support of the Democrat.- In his pleadings he remarked that he could not see why I should refuse him the use of a few thousand dollars of the Government's money. My reply to him was that I was not a bonded offi cer ; that I did not handle a dollar of the Govern- FISHBACK AND HIS APPEAL. 127 ment's money as my duties were entirely supervisory. Finding all other resources failing him, he finally submitted to me an editorial article highly com mendatory of my official acts as Supervisor, and exalting my influence as a Eepublican, and told me that if I would let him have the money he would print the article in the editorial columns of the Democrat on the following day. But to all his entreaties I turned him a deaf ear, not regarding the influence of his paper as at all consequential. From that time Mr. Fishback became an active and insiduous enemy of mine, and through intimate social relations he held with one of the distillers, he obtained some information concerning the conduct of the Eing. With this explanation my anxiety to learn the object of his visit to Washington at this particular time is obvious. I therefore wrote to Gen. Bab cock, teUing him of my fears and asking him to casually meet^Fishback and learn what he was doing. In reply to this enquiry I received the following despatch : Washington, March 12, 1875. To Gen. John McDonald. Letter received. Have seen the gentleman and he seems very friendly. He is here looking after the improvement of the rivers. (Signed) O. E. Babcock. For a short while I was satisfied, but when I be gun considering the information Fishback was in possession of I felt certain that the distiUer from whom he had learned so much had not neglected to tell him also "that Babcock was a member of the Eing. Then the fact dawned upon me that. Fish- back's appearance of friendship and his assertion 128 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. that he was looking after river improvements was only used to deceive Babcock as to his real pur poses. My suspicions were then resting upon im portant facts as was afterwards proven. Mr. Fish back became a strong supporter of Bristow and gave him aU the information in his possession, besides which, he suggested to the Secretary a means for , verifying his statements, by appointing a man who had been a commercial reporter of the Democrat, as special agent, to examine the receipts and ship ments of grain and whiskey reported at St. Louis for the past several years. We had been running the distiUeries crooked from the time Col. Joyce returned from Washings ton until some time in March, when the pacific con dition of our affairs was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of revenue agent Yaryan, whose ostensible purpose was the investigation of railroad back taxes. But he was suspected and the distil leries shut down at once, while Yaryan, to carry hia deception further, left St. Louis for Eichmond, Ind., but returned after an absence of only a few days. During Yaryan's absence Holmes, a clerk in the Fraud Division of the Internal Eevenue Bu reau, came to St. Louis, explaining his visit as con nected with the Knights Templar business. Brit his story was not beheved and a sharp watch was kept upon his movements, and I soon learned that he was here as an aid to Yaryan to make an inves tigation. FoUowing is a letter I received while absent from St. Louis on on a short visit to my home in Wisconsin : INFOEMATION OF ANOTHEE BABCOCK LETTER. 129 St. Louis, Mo., June 27, 1875. Dear General: Major Grimes has a very important letter for you; he does not like to trust it to the mails. What shall he do with it? I think it can be'safely sent to your address. Please answer. Truly yours, A. Gunther. I have inserted this letter here merely as addi tional proof of the secret correspondence between Babcock and myseU. Maj. Gunther was a revenue agent under me and was acquainted with the facts concerning my relation with Babcock. CHAPTEE VI. Taking Soundings Before the Attack — The Ring takes Fright — Seizures at St. Joseph — The Storm Approaching — My Visit to Washington — Interviews with Bristow, Grant and Douglass — My Resignation — I Advise Grant to Burn Evidence Collected — His Proposal to Check Bristow and Suppress Evidence — Bristow and Grant Together — Bris tow is Made Acquainted with Grant's Connection with the Ring — I Dine with Babcock who Assures Me that Bristow Shall Be Dismissed — Grant Declares that Bristow Must Cease His Efforts to Expose the Ring or Leave the Cabi net — An Open Letter to Bristow — Babcock's Letter of Assurance — Another Letter from Babcock — Our Corres pondence Through Major Grimes. The visit of Yaryan in March and April, 1875, was the first effective step taken to lay bare the frauds of the Whiskey Eing.^ Yaryan had already (during his first visit- to St. Louis, in company with Brasher and Gavitt,) discovered enough fraud to have exposed the illicit combination, but it is perhaps doubtful whether he could have secured a conviction of any of the members save, posibly, two or three distiUers, upon the evidence he had then coUected. But the circle in which the organization was now uneasfly operating grew constantly smaller. SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 131 On the 17th of April I received a dispatch from Commissioner Douglass ordering me to confer with Supervisor Parker, of the adjoining district, with reference to the seizure of some whiskey in Col orado. In obedience to this order I sent Colonel Joyce to Kansas City where Parker had reported, and the result of his investigations is given in the foUowing letter : St. Joseph, Mo., April 20th, 1875. Dear General : I spent yesterday at Kansas City conferring with Collec tor Parker, Gauger Hedrick and Revenue Agent Brown, in regard to spirits seized in Colorado. Collector Parker has seized some 250 packages in all, coming from Leavenworth, St. Joseph, Kansas City and St. Louis; the most of it for lack of brands. But the worst thing he says he has, is some 14 barrels that came from the rectifying house of B. A. Feinaman, in Kansas City, that are duplicated, that is, the serial numbers of the tax paid stamps, as coming from Shin's distillery, appear indented on the bung-staves and heads of the rectified packages sent out by old Feinaman. This looks serious for Feinaman, and possibly Shin, and how it can be ex plained away I cannot well see. *********** It seems that your district is now made the but-end of all the investigations going on. The war has begun and there is no telling where it will end. You must consult with our friends in Washington. *l* 2(C 2|C 3JC Jf* ^fc 5|C 3fC 5j£ £jC jfC I will go back to St. Louis to-morrow. Yours, John A. Joyce Before receiving this letter, however, my serious alarms were excited that some treachery was being practiced, and to discover the source I determined 132 INTEVIEW WITH DOUGLASS. to go to Washington and confer with the President. Accordingly, on the evening of the 19th, I left St. Louis for the Capital. Upon my arrival there, on the morning of the 21st, I found that the President, Gen. Babcock and Secretary Belknap, were in Boston attending the Jubilee. I stopped at the Arlington House, where I met Senator Dorsey of Arkansas, and to him I told my story of the manner in which Secretary Bristow was interfering with my affairs. The Senator advised me to join him in a determined effort to influence the President to dis miss Bristow, a suggestion which, if I had acted upon, would have undoubtedly prevented any expos ure of the Eing ; but, without disclosing to him the methods I had intended to pursue, I left him and called at the Treasury Department, where I formally met Secretary Bristow, addressing him with only a single inquiry, viz: "Did you send Mr. Holmes into my district? " His reply was : "If my mem ory serves me right, I did. I left him without con versing any further, and went over to the Internal Eevenue Bureau where I met Commissioner Doug lass, and with him I held an interview in which I sought to learn who was responsible for the appear ance of revenue agents in my district. Taking a seat beside his,desk I asked him what Holmes and Yaryan were doing in my district without my being first informed of their coming? He repHed : ' ' Why, they are not in your district ; Mr. Holmes is now in the department." I informed him of his mistake, but to be con vinced, he sent a messenger to Holmes' room, and there learned that he had been granted a leave of SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 133 absence for a few days by Secretary Bristow. This confused the Commissioner, especially after I told him that the Secretary had informed me, only a few moments before, that he had sent Holmes into my district. ~ The Commissioner arose in a somewhat excited manner, and remarked that he would see the Sec retary and learn why he had not been consulted in this matter. He went over to see Secretary Bris tow, while I awaited his return. He was absent about half an hour, and when ,he came back I saw a marked change in his appearence. He seemed loth to announce the result of his visit to the Sec retary, and when I enquired of him what had passed between them, he said : "Well, General, the fact is, I cannot tell you just now; but will explain everything before you leave Washington'. But I can assure you that no damage to you will result from the investigation." I then left the commis sioner, and spent the remainder of the day at the Washington Club House, playing billiards, and talking to officials. On the following morning, as I entered the dining haU of the ArHngton House, I was somewhat sur prised to see there'some St. Louis friends and Sen ator Dorsey, whom I greeted, and then I noticed Secretary Bristow seated at a table across the room, and when he caught my gaze, he motioned to me to come over to his table. When I approached him, he insisted upon me taking a seat at his table, which I did, when the following conversation occurred : Said he : " How are you getting on with revenue matters in your district ? " 134 INTEEVIEW WITH BEIST0W. I replied that I was collecting all the revenue— and this was true at that time, for all the distilleries were running straight then. He pressed the query further, by adding : " How long have you been collecting all the revenue in your district ? " I answered: Ever since the arrival of the offi cers you last sent into my district ; but,; said I, I presume you get daily reports from those agents (referring to Yaryan and Holmes), now at St. Louis, and know fully as much as I do. " Yes," he replied, " I get reports from out there, and have collected considerable evidence." I enquired of him the nature of his evidence, but he responded by saying: "Well, I can't exactly tell you that, but I have 'got a barrel of it (at the same time spreading his arms, and bringing his fingers together in a gesture, showing it was so large round), but as yet it implicates only the dis tillers and dealers." Then I enquired if he was after the officers, too. . "Oh, no," he repHed, " I am only trying to col lect the revenue. I have been aware of the fact, that for a great while, the revenue has not been collected;" and added: " What portion of the rev enue has been collected in your section of the country? " I answered that in my opinion, ahmit tw0-fjlir,qg He then asked me if I didn't think it could all be collected. I told him it might be under certain circum stances; he then desired to know what circum stances were essential. 3X SEC. BRISTOW.- SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 137 I answered him by saying that the first thing necessary would be an entire change of officers, and an increase of officers as the labor was too great for the number then employed. He further consulted my opinion respecting my behef in the abihty of the same number of officers to coUect the revenue, provided the officers were honest. To this I made answer that if the officers would renounce politics and could secure honest subordi nates it might be possible,- but, I added, as the service is now organized I think it extremely doubt ful if you can increase the coUections. Then he enquired why I had come to such a con clusion, explaining the cause for addressing me such inquiries by saying he was seeking informa tion that would assist him in applying such meth ods as would result in a thorough coUection of the revenue. My reply was, that the subordinate officers gen erally had been permitted to grant the distillers and rectifiers privileges which the law did not. warrant in order that money might be raised, osten-j sibly, for political purposes ; that by the operation of this vice the local officers had become, in ameas| ure, subordinated to the distillers' and rectifiers' interests to the great detriment of the public ser vice, and that the same influence permeated the entire service from the outlet to the fountain head. I concluded my answer by telhrig him that I would confess my inabUity to correct aU these evils, which would involve a thorough' reformation, and that if he had concluded to inaugurate a system 138 INTEBVIEW WITH BEISTOW. which would strike aU the troubles and taints of the service, then I should tender my resignation. His next enquiry was: "Have you come to Washington with the intention of resigning? " I replied that I had not, but said I> I have can vassed the situation in my own mind since iny ar rival here and concluded to have a talk with the President and Gen. Babcock, and, if they do not change my mind I shall resign, as I do not wish to fight a buzz-saw in this matter; He asked me what I meant by the use of such an expression. My answer was, that he was my superior officer and had authority to send men into my district to make investigations whenever he should choose, and that I could not retain my self-respect and per mit that to be done, without their coming with instructions to report to me ; that I was a friend of the President and of Gen. Babcock and that whatever I had done in my district was in good faith. He assured me that he was not fighting the Pres ident's friends but was only seeking to collect the revenue. I told him that all the officers in my district were the President's friends and that.if he persisted in se cretly sending revenue agents out there to make investigations it would be certain to precipitate a fight between the President and the Treasury de partment. He replied to this by saying that he had not an ticipated such a result, but said he : "If I should make a change of officers, or declare my pohcy to enforce SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 139 the law in the spirit and letter, do you beheve they would tender their resignations as you propose to do?" I expressed my belief in the affirmative. He then asked me to ascertain the feeling of the officers with regard to the idea he had expressed, and, upon my return to St. Louis, to report to him. He assured me that he intended to collect the revenue at aU hazards, and said it would be much more gratifying to him to have the officers resign than to be compeUed to remove them. He was anxious to learn if the Government offi cers at St. Louis could be relied upon to prosecute parties guilty of violations of the revenue laws. I repHed that they could, but I doubted the ex pediency of the Government bringing suits against the distillers and rectifiers for two reasons, which I explained as foUows : These men, said I, have been led to believe that the money they have paid upon the whiskey they have illicitly manufactured was used for pohtical purposes, and that their opera tions have been sanctioned, not only by the district officers, but also by that power which recognizes no superior; that prosecutions would result in closing the distilleries and thereby entirely close that source of revenue. The second reason I assigned was its inexpediency because of the injury it would entail upon the Eepublican party by arraying against it the most efficient workers within the ranks. He told me that, while he was anxious to pre serve and secure the further success of the Eepub- Hcan party, that he made his duties as an officer of the nation paramount to his aUegiance to party, 140 INTEEVIEW WI1.-I BEISTOW. and that, regardless of political results, he would ooUect the revenue. I admired the sentiments of the Secretary, as I told him, but I also expressed to him my grave doubts of his ability to withstand a fight which his contemplated actions invited, and assured him that his first efforts would arouse a political spirit Hke an avenging Nemesis, and that his opposition would come from a higher power than perhaps he had considered, and, united with that, would be the consohdated influence of office-holders and poHti cians. I did not forget to add in this connection,. that I had already been approached by a prominent Seriator, who requested my aid in uniting in an appeal to the President, to be signed by a number1 of prominent officials, asking for his (Bristow's) removal. But, I added, it is not my wish to inaugurate a breach between yourself and the President, so I refused. This last answer of mine somewhat confused him for, after a pause, which indicated a gathering of ideas, he asked me if I had seen, the President since my arrival in Washington. I replied that I had not, but that I was waiting his return from Boston, and was anxious to see him. Then, with some anxiety pictured in his face, he inquired if I intended talking with the President upon this "matter in the same direct and pointed manner I had spoken with him (the Secretary). Said I : General, I shall talk -to the President not only as plainly as I have talked with you but I shaU be much less reserved in my conversation with him. SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING 141 He then asked me if, after my intended interview with the President, I would return to him and report the substance and result of the conversation. My reply was that I would repeat to him so much of the interview as would be agreeable to the Pres ident, but that, as the matter would be canvassed between us. in a confidential manner, I could not betray any trusts. The Secretary remarked that he was aware that I occupied a more intimate and influential relation with the President than any other person in the West. This closed our conversation, which had lasted about two hours. When I went out into the hotel office, I learned that the President and Gen. Bab cock had returned from Boston ; so I went directly to the White House, where I was fortunate, upon entering the Executive room, to find the President alone. I drew a chair up near him, and after pass ing a very few words of general remark, I proceeded directly to disclose the object of my visit. I first explained to him that my district was being visited by revenue agents without my knowl edge; that there was a veil of secrecy over the actions of the Secretary in matters wherein I was deeply interested, and in which I should be consulted, and that this secrecy also prevented the Commissioner of Internal Eevenue from giving me instructions, so that there was a rapidly widen ing breach in the revenue service; that if the policy outlined by Secretary Bristow should be pur sued, it would result in the destruction of the EepubHcan party. ' 142 INTEEVIEW WITH THE PEESIDENT. To this the President repHed that he had talked with the Secretary concerning the coUection of in formation by revenue agents, but that his idea was that the evidence thus gathered should not be used against the revenue officers, but only against the distiUers and business men ; that he had thought such action even a wise party act. To this I replied, by assuring him that the offi cers were too intimately associated with the distill ers and rectifiers to escape an exposed connection should prosecutions be begun ; that these men had been the largest contributors to the campaign fund when the coUections were apphed to that purpose, but that for a long time past the money thus raised had gone into the pockets of individuals, as he weU knew. In addition to this, I reminded him that if the prosecutions were based upon conclusive evi dence, that the distillers and rectifiers would not : alone suffer, but that the officers and every one hav ing guilty knowledge, would be Hable to the same punishment. I told him further, that these agents, in getting this evidence, would be certain, almost, to leak some of their information, which would run directly into the newspapers. To this the President responded, that the papers were so full of scandals that, unless the proof were furnished, their reports would hardly be credited by the public. He told me that when the agents made' their investigations, their reports could easily be con- troUed in the Department, and that they should be. I argued with him that the safest plan would be to recall the agents, because, said I, if they get this evidence? it is certain, sooner or later, to obtain, SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 143 publicity. I also gave him my impressions concern ing the intentions of Secretary Bristow, which were, that if unrestrained, the investigations would be most searching, and with a mountain of searing evidence, it could not be hidden from the pubhc. I further told him that the Secretary had already assured me he had "a barrel" of information, sufficient to convict a large number of the distillers and rectifiers. The President then said: " What disposition, in your judgment, should be made of this evidence? " My reply was, that it ought to be shoved into a; Said he : " WeU, I hardly think it would be pohcy to burn it up; " but, said he, " don't you think it would be a good plan to have it aU sealed up se curely and placed in a vault where no one could get at it?" J answered, that would subserve present necessi ties, but that it would be resurrected sometime, when there was a change of officers. He then told me that he would prevent a further accumulation of the evidence, by having the agents re-called, and that he would confer with the Secretary as to the most desirable means for preventing any of the evidence from becoming pubhc. I responded by saying: "Well, General, if you have an understanding with the Secretary, you can control things." He acknowledged that he had no understanding with the Secretary, but that, at all events, the evi dence would be controUed. 144 INTEEVIEW WITH THE PEESIDENT. I remarked: You and the Secretary ought to work together. His response was: " Yes, we ought to; but if we don't, one of us wiU have to quit, and it will not be me." I said : No, I don't presume it will be you, as your time is fixed by the public, and the Secre tary's tenure depends upon individual pleasure. He then asked me what effect Bristow's action would have in other districts, and upon the party. I told him that, as he understood everything that had been going on in my district, it was only neces sary for me' to assure him that the same condition of affairs existed throughout the entire country and in every district ; that if the matter were allowed to reach the public it could no more be stopped than the waves of the ocean before the wind ; that it would expose the internal operations of the Ee- publican party, the sources from whence- its life was derived, and that the party would collapse like a balloon rent by lightning'. ;'' He manifested much anxiety, and was, indeed, ; sorely agitated. His response to my opinion was : ' ' WeU^iLmusjLh&-skef^ed. ' ' Our conversation then drifted on to Bristow, in the course of which I repeated to the President everything that had occurred between the Secre tary and myself at the breakfast table. I gave him my earnest opinion that Mr. Bristow had in augurated a scheme for thoroughly exposing us, and that unless he was checked with much show of determination, such would be the result. I fur ther told the President that the Secretary had SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 145 requested me to caU at his office upon my return from the White House and repeat to him the Sub stance of the conference with the Executive, which I quahfiedly promised to do. The President expressed his anxiety to have me do this, and to teU the Secretary to carefuUy, guard the evidence he had, against the possibility of pub licity untU he (Grant) could confer with him (Bris tow) as to its disposition. I repHed to himrthat I would go over and see the Secretary and report in the evening or foUowing morning. I then arose to go, and, as I did so, made the remark that I had" a package of money for Gen.. Babcock, which I intended then to dehver. "Yes," he repHed, "Bab (as he almost always caUed Gen. Babcock), is in his office." I walked into the private secretary's room but found it fuU of visitors, so that I did not speak to Gen. Babcock for a few moments. When I caught his- attention I greeted him, and in a sotto-Yoioe, informed him that I had a package for him. He told me that, as he had just returned from Boston and was very busy, he could riot talk with me then, but asked me to dine with him at 5 p. m. ; that his family was out of the city and that he would be alone. I then left the White House and started to the Treasury Department, but, on the plateau, between the White House and the Treasury, I met Secre tary Bristow on his way to see the President. We stopped and entered into a conversation, in which I informed him that I had just left the President, 146 INTEEVIEW WITH BEISTOW. having been engaged with him ever since leaving the breakfast table. He asked me if I had talked freely with the President. I told him that I had, and thereupon repeated -to him nearly everything the President had told me, including his desire to have the evidence referred to . carefully guarded until the President should confer with him. I did not forget to tell Mr. Bris tow that I had told the President the best disposi tion to make of the evidence was to shove it into a red-hot stove, but that the President thought a bet ter plan would be to seal it up securely and place it where there was no possibility of any one seeing it. Mr. Bristow smiled, and remarked, that he had not secured the evidence for such a purpose, and then asked me to go over to his office and wait his return, as he desired to talk further with me. I asked him if he would speak to the President about the matter before leaving the White House. He repHed that, if opportunity was afforded he Would. I went over to the Secretary's office and waited there nearly an hour before Mr. Bristow returned. When he came in we held a general conversation in which we went over the same subjeot as in the morning and my conference with the President. I then asked him if he had consulted with .the Pres ident "with regard to the disposition of the evi dence. He replied, that the subject had been men tioned. I then asked him if the President had sug gested to him the destruction of the evidence, or sealing it up to prevent its pubhcity or use. SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 147 ' His reply was that the matter was talked about but no conclusion had been reached. I enquired of him if he and the President had disagreed. He said that the President's views were not ex actly Hke his own, but thought they would be in accord in the course of a few days. I became convinced that the Secretary was not talking to me without reserve, and that he was keep ing his own decisions from me, so I begun making inquiries to ascertain what he proposed to do in my district ; whether he intended making seizures, etc. He told me that he thought he would seize the property of the distillers and rectifiers, against whom he had evicence. I suggested to him a more advisable course in submitting a proposition that would compromise the trouble. I told him that I thought these men would pay up all the back taxes and settle with the government, which would prevent them from be ing broken up. He told me that he had not thought of this, but that he should consult the best interest of the Gov ernment before taking any final action. We here dropped the subject, but he requested me to call upon him frequently while in the city that we might talk further upon the matter. After as suring him that I would, we parted. From the Secretary's office I called on Commis sioner Douglass with whom I had some conversa tion, in the course of which I told him that, after considering the indignities of Mr, Bristow, I had concluded to resign, 148 INTEEVIEW WITH BABCOCK. He said he did not blame me for having such an intention and assured me that he had a strong in clination to do the same thing. I did not remain long with the Commissioner, and went over to -the Washington Club House, where I played billiards and talked with friends un til 5 o'clock, p. m., when I went to Gen. Babcock's residence. I found Gen. Babcock and Gen. Horace Porter at the house, together, but in order to meet me privately Gen. B. invited me to go up stairs with him to see a newly fitted up room, and a bull finch which he had recently purchased. (This buU- finch Gen. Babcock afterwards gave my wife, and from this circumstance he very frequently signed his confidential letters to me as " B. Finch " and " BuU - Finch, "r as will be seen hereafter in his printed cor respondence.) When we were alone he offered me a chair and we sat down and had a lengthy conversation. But before we had talked long I drew a package con taining $5,000. from my side pocket and gave it to him. This money had been collected by Col. Joyce before his departure for Kansas City and given to me for delivery to Gen. Babcock, as I was then expecting to visit Washington. He thanked me for the money,*saying at the same time " well, it isn't much, but it is very acceptable at this time." At this juncture the door bell rung and the ser vant came up- stairs to tell the General that there was a gentleman at the door who wished to see him. He went down stairs, but after an absence of a few minutes he returned with a piece of paper in his hand, which he handed me with the remark, , SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 149 " there, now, General, you see how our money goes." I looked at the paper and saw that it was a receipt for $500. signed by Krounce, the Wash ington correspondent of the New York Times. He then explained to me that the money was paid for the appearance of an article in the Times in rela tion to some change of officers in Boston, which this article was intended to prepare an excuse for I told him that he ought not to grumble if he got value received. He replied that he was not grumbling, but that the demands for money were so numerous that at times he was sorely puzzled to raise necessary funds. We then conversed upon the subject matter I had discussed with Secretary Bristow and the President. I repeated to him my intention to re-, sign and get out of the service. He advised me to do so, saying at the same time, that if I would leave St. Louis and go to New York, that we could arrange schemes there to make a great deal more money than we had derived from the Whiskey Eing; that I would be worth a great deal more to them in New York, (meaning himself and the President) than I was in the West. We talked perhaps half an hour when he took me into the front room and showed me the bull-finch, which sang until I was perfectly enraptured with it. He then told me that he had purchased the bird for my*wife. We went down stairs, and shortly afterwards din ner was announced. While dining, Secretary Bel knap caine in and, on invitation, sat down with us. 150 INTEEVIEW WITH BABCOCK. After dinner, Belknap and Porter left, and Gtu. Babcock and I went into the billiard room and played biUiards, and continued our conversation on the contemplated action of Secretary Bristow, until nearly midnight. He told me that there was going to be a change of Cabinet officers before the next campaign ; that Spinner and WiUiams had resigned and Delano would go next. He also informed me that an effort was being made to dismiss Belknap, but he said that scheme would not work. He talked considerably about me going to New York, but did not say what special position he wanted me to occupy. On the foUowing day I breakfasted late, after which, I caUed to see Gen. Babcock. When I en tered his room he handed me the foUowing dispatch : St. Louis, April 23rd, 1875. To 0. E. Babcook, Washington. Tell Mac to see Parker of Colorado, and telegraph to com missioner to crush out St. Louis enemies. (Signed,) "Gkit." This telegram was from Col. Joyce and its mean ing was for me to form a combination and influence the President to dismiss Secretary Bristow and have the revenue agents recalled from St. Louis. I told Gen. Babcock, after reading the telegram, that I was not going into any fight, but would resign. He then again asked if I would not go to New York. # I told him that for a time I preferred to go home and take a rest, but would let him know after a season. SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. l5l I left Gen. Babcock and went into the Executive room, where I met the President, with whom I had some further conversation on the Bristow investi gation. I asked him if he had conferred with the Secre tary on the matter of advisable disposition of the evidence coUected? He replied that he had talked some to the Secre tary about it, but not enough to settle the matter. He said that he was not yet fully convinced of Mr. Bristow's intentions, though said he, "the Secre tary seems to be a Httle arbitrary, but there shaU be no trouble." Said I : General, you don't mean for me to infer that the Secretary is manifesting an open hostihty to you ? " Oh no, no," repHed the President : " Not that, but he merely shows a decided wish to have his own way, which wiU not be permitted, unless he changes present apparent inchnations." Well, I remarked : I should Hke to get an idea of what I may expect, so as to be prepared for any pohcy." The President spoke up quickly, saying: " If any new phase develops important for you to know, I wiU write you at once." I interposed an immediate objection, teUing him that he must not think of writing, as my correspon dence was Hable any time to fall into the hands of detectives, reminding him that already two or three important letters addressed to me, had been inter cepted and stolen. After a few moments further conversation, I told 15:2 INTEEVIEW WITH BEISTOW. the President that I had made up my mind, after considering the matter fuUy, to tender my resigna tion. His reply was: " Oh, no, don't do that, I assure you that no trouble growing out of this matter will affect you, and besides, I don't know who oould fiU your position out there, taking oare of the newspa pers, etc" I replied to him that I would again oonsult with the Secretary and Commissioner, after whioh I would let him know definitely what I proposed to do. I then caUed on Seoretary Bristow and had anoth er lengthy interview with him, in the course of which, I repeated to him the President's language just used to me, and further stated that unless I could be of some speoial service to the Government in settHng the difficulties in the West, that I should resign. The Secretary told me that he did not know of any special service I could render, unless it would be by a conference with the other officers in my district respecting their resignations. I told him that I would confer with them, and that I felt certain they would aU tender their res ignations. I then caUed on Commissioner Douglass, to whom I announced my determination to resign. He expressed his regrets, saying that our ofiioial relations had been very pleasant, but that he thought I had adopted the proper course ; that the Secretary had taken matters so exclusively into his own hands, that he thought he (Douglass) would resign in a few days, also. SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 153 From the Commissioner's office I returned to the hotel, when I found the following dispatch from Col. Joyce: St. Louis, April 23rd, 1875. To Gen. McDonald, Washington: Don't leave Washington until everything is absolutely settled. (Signed,) "John." To this I sent the foUowing reply : Washington, April 23d, 1875. Jno. A. Joyce, St. Louis, I leave for St. Louis to-night. (Signed,) Jno. McDonald. After sending this dispatch I went to the Club house where I drafted my resignation, and then went directly to the White House. I showed the draft to Gen. Babcock, and he had a copy of it made by one of his clerks. FoUowing is a copy : Washington, D. C, April 23d, 1875. To His Excellency, the President: Dear Sir. — I have the honor, for personal reasons, to here with tender you my resignation of the position of Supervisor of Internal Revenue, which I have held for nearly six years, the resignation to take effect at your pleasure. In submitting my resignation, I desire to express to you my heartfelt gratitude for the many kindnesses received at your hands during an acquaintance of over twenty years, during much of which time it has been my good fortune to have served under you in the civil and military service. I am unable to express on paper the depth of my apprecia tion of those kindnesses, but will ask your attention to my future loyalty, both to you personally and to our government, for a full expression of all I owe to both. I am, Mr. President, your obedient servant, John McDonald. 154 INTEEVIEW WITH BABCOCK. Gen. Babcock, after reading the letter, compH- mented it and said that he did not beheve the Presi dent would accept it, but hoped that he would so that I could go to New York. I took the letter over to the Secretary and showed it to him. He pronounced it a fine letter, and said that while he had hardly expected me to take such a step yet he thought it a proper one. I sat and conversed with him quite a time, repeat ing much that had previously passed between us. I told him that my impression was he was getting into deep water, but that I proposed to step aside and let him sail his own boat. Another remark I made was in declaring that while I- was in politics I always made everything subservient to party, and that all my efforts had been centraHzed in making the EepubHcan party a success. His reply was that that was an element in the party which was doing it a great injury; that an honest coUection of the revenue and a thorough discharge of official duties would do much more towards perpetuating the party than a distribution of money obtained by corrupt prac tices. Yes, said I, my ideas are so different from those of others in the party that it is better for me to get out ; that I would tender my resignation and return to St. Louis that night. He asked me if I could not arrange to stay over until Monday; that he was going to New York that evening, but would be back Saturday night and he would like to talk further with me; that SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 155 he might obtain from me some further sugges tions which would aid him in perfecting the reve nue service. I repHed that I had already telegraphed that I would leave Washington that night, and it would be impossible for me to remain there any longer; but that I would endeavor to see him again before he started away. I left the Secretary and again went to the Club -House where I remained until about four o'clock, when I returned to the White House. As I entered the front door I met the President and Mrs. Grant coming out to take a ride, the team which I had given the President being in waiting for them. I addressed the President telhng him that I had my resignation with me which I wished to give him. He replied, "well, I am just going out riding; can't you come in to-morrow? " I told him that I intended leaving Washington that night and that I would Hke for him to receive my resignation then. " WeU," said he, "if that is so, why, you can hand it to me." I gave him the letter and he stepped aside to read it. Mrs. Grant and I then entered into a short conversation in which she assured me that the team I had given the President had afforded them more -pleasure than anything they had ever possessed; that the President had purchased a great many horses but he had never before been able to get a team that suited them. She thanked me repeatedly for the gift and declared that nothing could have pleased them so much. 156 AN OPEN LETTEE TO BEISTOW. When the President had examined the letter a few moments he turned to me and with a significant /smile on his face he remarked, as he placed it in the ^nside pocket of his coat; "111 take care of this," leaving the inference that he would not accept my resignation unless it became necessary, a circum stance he did not anticipate. When the President and his wife drove off, I went up stairs to see Gen. Babcock; I waited until he finished some writing, and then, at his invitation, I accompanied him to his residence, and took din ner with him. After dining, we played biUiards until nearly train time, when I returned to the Arlington House where I met Secretary Bristow, as he was getting into a cab to go to the depot. He asked me to write to him upon my return to St. Louis, but the time was too Hmited for us to have any special conversation. Soon afterwards I took the train for St. Louis, since which time I have never seen Mr. Bristow. AN OPEN LETTER TO EX-SECRETARY B. H. BRISTOW. Dear Sir: When I made up my mind to expose the great Whiskey frauds which culminated so disastrously to many in 1875, I determined to deal with faots in an impartial and fearless manner. You know enough of my nature to know that I am no sycophant, and that nothing could induce 'me to lower my head to any man. It has been necessary for me to use your name in this history of the official corruption whose conception occurred in the mash tub; bit I have sought to secure neither your praise nor your enmity, relying entirely upon my own manhood and the vindication of my own con science. As officers of the Government we occupied diverse SECEETS OF THE GREAT WHISKEY EING. 157 relations, and the devotion to your trusts has resulted in my bitter "humiliation and loss of fortune. But animosity assumes no character in this drama; it is a play in which the parts are all taken by men whose records is the piece for their acting. When you met me in Washington City, in April, 1875, you were anxious to see me, but no more so than I was to consult with you. There was a Damocletian sword suspended over some one's head, but who was beneath its gleaming point we knew not. I felt secure in my position, hut you felt justified in yours, and my spirit of boldness was born of assurances which, perhaps, you had anticipated. I have not changed my attitude and make it apparent here, because you would not recognize me in any other garb now, when I came to you for the purpose of reviving the memories of that fight, in which many suffered for their guilt, whilst other covered their grosser sins with ermine of official power; while you, even as a plain tiff, was compelled to see your escutcheon stained by the hands of your superior, in order to destroy your purpose to grapple Fraud at the fountain head. You, of all others, best know the spirit which, sealed my lips, and know how I realized that, in the silence of my voice, I could hear the sentence, of my punishment. Then how well you can appreciate that the cry of those who were clothed with a stronger power, though whose guilt made them mortals none the less, has drowned the weak utterances of myself, calling the Nation to look upon the crimes of those who com missioned me^f Are there none to believe McDonald because he went to prison, in order that his superior in crime and power might not be forced to a cell of infamy, by which the very face of America's Republic would be seared with the tears of disgrace^ It may be so, for it has been so before; therefore I call upon you, in the name of that fragmentary por tion of the people whose conception of crime is that it may be perpetrated by the greatest of men, and especially in response to that patriotic demand, that the guilt of every man, however high in power, who shared the benefits of the illicit whiskey 158 AN OPEN LETTEE TO BEISTOW. frauds, be made public, and over your signature speak whether I have reported you aright. Not alone this, but I here declare that after your conversation with the President and myself, on the 22d day of April, 1875, you became convinced that the President was cognizant of the revenue frauds being perpetra- . ted in my district, and that subsequent facts confirmed your opinion that President Grant was a silent member of the. Whiskey Eing; that he used his influence to prevent disclos ures, and to defeat the prosecutions of members of that ring; that in all his acts, he impeded your efforts to convict Bab cock, Avery, McKee, Joyce and myself; that he endeavored to have you suppress and destroy evidence, and in all matters connected with a prosecution of the whiskey cases in 1875 he was your enemy, because of your efforts to secure convictions. Have I perverted your language to secure a more favorable showing for myself? Did I try to prejudice you against President Grant by reporting to you language as emanating from the President which subsequent interviews convinced you he did not use; and, lastly, have you ever discovered that anything I ever did> was intended to deceive you as to Presi dent Grant's wishes or intentions ? By replying with frankness to this letter, unsparing of the feelings of all concerned, with no other purpose than to tell the whole truth, you will confer an absolute blessing upon the American people, and will receiye the especial gratitude of Yours Truly, John McDonald. Immediately upon my return from Washington I held a conference with all the U. S. Eevenue offi cers in St. Louis with relation to their resignations. Col. Joyce tendered his resignation about the 27th, and Collector Maguire adopted the same course in a day or two after. I went directly to Wm. Mc Kee, who was still publishing the Globe, on Third near Pine street, and explained the situation to SECEETS OF THE GEEAT. WHISKEY EING. 159 him thoroughly. He manifested the greatest alarm, and begged me to see him daily and report the actions of the Government. I was .then in almost daUy correspondence with Gen. Babcock, and upon receipt of his letters, I would take them down to the Globe office, where I usually found Mr. McKee and CoUector Maguire, and together we would read them. The draw-strings of the Government kept squeez- the Eing tighter, and we began seriously to reflect upon the probability of our own punishment. In my correspondence with Gen. Babcock I did not neglect to acquaint him with our fears, and ask his interposition to prevent a coUapse that would entail disaster. ¦ FoUowing is one of Gen. Babcock's letters to me in reply to expressions of my anxiety conveyed in my correspondence with him : [A f ac-simfle of which is given herewith.] Dear Friend: Keep steady on. Do not lose your grit. Some of the gau- gers and distillers want to squeal, and have, by such action,] defeated the plans in a measure. ,Theij_wjil_jwLJie-JilhwedHiO: turn-JMfoirinM^a^^ Who ever goes to your city will be instructed to make no such promises. When the attention of the public is called to Milwaukee, Chicago, Evansville, Cincinnati, as it will in a very short time, no spec ial attention will be called to your city. You want to help any one that goes to your city, and trust to the reliabihty of the friend whom you telegraphed. Sorry your officials have to leave the service. Steer your ship in the tempest, any one can do it in the calm. Yours truly, May 7th, 1875. Horace Houghton. >U.U, jWt ,elU. «UW Al^L^A ZZflu.*- m tfU*l»4> fee* c^o4 tr^t£^^u» *nA*>~75C*)f a*c* '7^/y*tif ^Ufo JUT- SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 161 This letter came to me through Major E. B. Grimes, the Quartermaster. On the envelope (which is bordered with black), in one corner is the' word " Personal," and in the lower left-hand cor ner "Politeness of Major Grimes." On the same day I received the following letter through the mail : [A f ac-simihe of which is also given.] Office Public Buildings and Grounds. Washington, D. C, May 7th, 1875. Dear General: Your letter at hand. I shall send the photographs in a day or two, and will try to get Gen. Belknap's. Sorry your assist ants have resigned; it must keep you quite busy. I have delivered your message. Hope the bird was a good traveller. Your friend is doing the best he can. You can, I believe, rely upon him. The new commissioner takes his place on the 15th, and change generally will take place at that date, though your services will be needed till the first of June. All well here but busy. Regards to Mrs. McD., Joyce and wife, and other friends. Yours truly, 0. E. Babcock. Gen. J. A. McDonald, St. Louis, Mo. An explanation of this first letter is as foUows : I wrote Gen. Babcock telling him, as I had told Secretary Bristow, that the best plan for a settle ment of the troubles then culminating, would be to accept a compromise from the distiUers and recti fiers ; but I wrote him if these men were pressed by the Secretary that an explosion would be certain to follow. The General informs me in this letter that some of the gaugers, with the hope of securing f*(/e>»rr V^wtC »r6 /fotrf^yU. ^ a, /S".} >-^ J&» &&*¦ *rU< ^ Jzfpfii f6- fotM^ /^"jf- %*^ PsA&C ^**X^ £n-Z/ cu %/>*¦£. $r*-r&isS~ /fan" fr*^*'-**. eS&A^.- T5& ^«<>^ vv (Xxia. ^«. Asw (/ ti^j^t. /tvry ty/Ur*. -^siv,. ^%t. <7»A5? ComWb**rH~V Z*lA\*J l£< X/^ctsKA. a-n /fQ /f • j£~**~ •dte <-M2 ^*- ^K 4<^if^ *Zp**Z, Zt" .^t-^^S* &iry*)4, /*«? ta^C>- <£w£. p&*U.-j£^£j^3^ SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. 163 immunity, have shown a disposition to become in formers, thereby preventing the Secretary from entertaining a proposition to compromise. To intimidate the distillers and subordinate rev enue officers, Gen. Babcock wants me to assure them that they will not be allowed to go free by becoming informers. (There were only two persons who could give these men such assurance, viz. Grant -and Bristow, and as Babcock was the President's private secretary, he could speak for him, but not for Bristow.) He further states that if the distiUers, etc., can be prevented from volunteering evidence, that after the attention of the public is called to other cities, where the Secretary was then develop ing fraud, that then, he intimates, I might get out of the service without any charges being made against me or the administration. Before I left Washington, as I should have pre viously stated, we considered the advisability of con ducting our correspondence over fictitious names, as we anticipated an interference through the sur- veiUance of detectives. He therefore arranged to send me aU his confidential letters through Major Grimes. To prevent exposure, should his letters be misplaced, he informed me of his intended use of the names of Houghton, Brown and B. Finch, or Bull Finch (an idea suggested by the bird he gave my wife). The letter of same date as the one just explained, and mailed me from Washington, should be under stood as follows : The photographs referred to, is a response* to a request I had made of riim ' to secure for me pictures of all the members qf the Cabinet 164 the peesident's PHOTOGEAPH. and of the President. I had previously told him that I was making a coUection of my friends' pho tographs, with their autographs, which I intended having arranged in a handsome cabinet. It may be well to inform the reader, in this connection, that after my indictment Gen. Babcock sent me an ele gant, large sized picture of the President, with his autograph, but to avoid a suspicion which might be attached to such a circumstance, he placed the date April 9th on the picture, to give the inference that it was given to me before, instead of after my in dictment. The friend referred to meant President Grant, who was then using his efforts to prevent Secretary Bristow from pushing matters too far, and for a considerable time he undoubtedly thought he could dissuade the Secretary from carrying his investiga tions to that point where exposure would result. The reference made to the new Commissioner was relating to the 'removal of Mr. Douglass, who was to be succeeded by Pratt on the 15th, as stated. CHAPTEE VII. Why Douglass Played a Double Bole — The First Seizures in St. Louis — The Correspondence — Babcock's Letter Informing Me of Officials who Want to " Peach " — Acceptance of My Resignation — Why Grant did Not Dismiss Bristow— , Grant Sorely Distressed — Babcock's Letter Inclosing an Anonymous Note — The "Lightning" Dispatch — My In dictment — Assuring Grant and Babcock of My Fidelity — Babcock's Reply — Grimes' Postoffice — Babcock Requests Grimes to See Dyer — Grimes' Serious Aspect — Grimes' Profane Note — His Testimony — Another Letter from Babcock — Babcock's Letter Informing Me Where Some Stolen Evidence May be Purchased — Krum Divides the Whisky Money — Krum's Letter Advising a Conference with Grant — Babcock and Grant Visit Me — A Champagne Dinner — Their Promises and My Pledges of Silence- Grant Humbles Himself — Giving Grant Back-bone — Grant Grieving over Lost Opportunities — Grant's Promise to Pardon Me in Case of Conviction — Preparing for Trial — The District Attorney Promises Me Immunity, if I will Tell What I Know — Beginning of My Trial — General Henderson Promises to Enter a Nolle Pros., if I will Become a Witness for the Government — My Conviction — Why I was Not Pardoned — How I Kept My Promise — Fox, the Grand-Juryman — He Keeps Grant Advised of All the Acts of the Grand-Jury — How Fox was Rewarded for Perjuring Himself — The Grand-Jury Letter — Babcock's Indictment — Joyce's Oration Before Sentence. If a seeming but not real digression is pardonable I will here explain the very peculiar and anomalous attitudes of Commissioner Douglass : As has been 166 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. shown in an earher part of this book,--Douglass-¥e- _ceiyfid his appnintmftnj;,.ailmost-di^eetl:y-through-th& influence of Whiskey Eingjxtemb^s. He had been to many rehearsals where he had learned the part he was to play in the interest of the Eing. He knew that President Grant and Gen. Babcock were cognizant of the revenue frauds then being perpe trated, and having the consent of his superiors, as weU also as instructions from those who gave him the position, he was a true friend of the Eing up to the faU of 1874. I wiU not do Mr. Douglass injus tice as I have been and will be careful throughout this expose not to say nor infer a single fault which positive evidence does not substantiate ; hence- 1 must admit the fact that he did not, to my know ledge, receive a single cent of the income derived from the manufacture of iUicit whiskey. His only crime consisted in such a desire to hold office that he sacrificed or subordinated himself to the Eing's interest in order to secure and retain his position. In the fall of 1874 Mr. Douglass discovered ,that Secretary Bristow had formed a determination to inagurate a searching investigation of revenue mat ters in order to satisfy himself why the collections had so materiaUy faUen off. When this course was decided upon Mr. Douglass was not slow to find that Mr. Bristow was not consulting him but was taking matters in his own hands. This scared the Commissioner and to prepare for an exposure which he felt was coming he changed his attitude and pro fessed, suddenly, an almost consuming desire to ferret out every semblance of fraud. The investi gations proceeded, however, without any special DISMISSAL OF COMMISSIONEE DOUGLASS. 167 assistance of his, until Mr. Bristow was startled by proofs which showed conclusively that the Whiskey Eing had been in f uU operation for five years ; not only this, but in searching through the pigeon holes, in the Commissioner's office, the Secretary found a large nuinber of reports from revenue agents who had been sent into my district, and had explained the frauds that were being perpetrated, and also the Woodward letters. This discovery _ decided the Secretary in his former opinion that the Commissioner had at least some guilty know ledge of the revenue frauds, and a change was at once determined upon. This was about the last day of April, and without any consultations, the Secretary dismissed Mr. Douglass, the office to be declared vacant on the 15th of May, on which day Hon. D. D. Pratt succeeded to the position. On thfl 10th day of May, Lucien Hawley and E. H. Chapman, armed with the proper authority from Washington, quietly dropped upon St. Louis, land ing as it were in the midst of the distiUeries and rectifying estabhshments, ten of which they seized without giving me ariy notice. This act carried consternation with it, but I felt secure in my position and maintained a bold front, in evidence of which I here append the foUowing correspondence. The moment I learned of the seizures I sent the foUowing telegram : St. Louis, May 10, 1875. To Hon. J. W. Douglas, Commissioner Internal Revenue, Washington : I am informed by letter of this date from Collector Maguire, First District, Missouri, that nearly all of the distilleries and 168 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. several rectifying houses of this city have been seized by Government officers, thereby relieving storekeepers and gaugers, and demanding their keys. The above being done without my knowledge, I ask for instructions in the premises. John McDonald, Supervisor Internal Revenue. FoUowing is the reply : Washington, May 11, 1875. To John McDonald, Esq., Supervisor Internal Revenue, St. Louis : f" Supervisor Hawley was assigned to special duty and has full instructions. (Signed) J. W. Douglass. In the afternoon of the day on which the seiz ures were made Mr. Hawley called on. me at my office, and handed me his letter of authority and instructions, as foUows : Treasury Department, May 7, 1875; Sir : — Under authority conferred on the Secretary of the Treasury, by Section 3,159, Revised Statutes of the United States, you are hereby temporarily assigned to special duty in the State of Missouri. I am, very respectfully, B. H. Bristow, Secretary. Mr. Hawley's personal letter informing me of his instructions is as f oUows : Lindell Hotel, St. Louis, May 10, 1875. John McDonald, Esq., Supervisor Internal Revenue : Sir :—^L have the honor to hand you herewith copy of a letter of assignment, directed to me by the Hon. B. H. Bristow, Secretary of the Treasury, assigning me to special duty in the State of Missouri. The duty to which I am assigned has reference to spirits, manufacture, sale, rectification, shipment, etc. I am especially authorized to make seizures, as is also Mr. E. R. Chapman, of Washington, head' of division, and we have ' SEIZING THE DISTILLEEIES. 169 made ten seizures, as follows : Rudolph Ulrici, Bingham Bros., John Busby, Bevis & Fraser, Lewis Teuscher, distillers; G. Bensberg, Bevis, Frazer & Co., F. C. Federer, J. L. Benecke, and Quinlin Bros, rectifiers. While I remain in Missouri, my address will be Lindell Hotel, St. Louis. Respectfully, Lucien Hawley, Supervisor Internal Revenue. To these letters I wrote the foUowing reply : Office Supervisor of Internal Revenue, 1 St. Louis, May 11, 1875. J Sir : — I have the honor this day to acknowledge receipt of your favor, dated yesterday, transmitting copy of letter from the honorable Secretary of the Treasury, assigning you to special duty in this state, and to say that any assistance my self or the officers of this District can render you in the fur therance of your duty, shall be done cheerfully. During your stay in this city, I would be pleased to extend to you the courtesies of my office, where there will be a desk set a part for the exclusive use of yourself and Mr. Chapman. Very Respectfully, John McDonald, Supervisor Internal Revenue. To Lucien Hawley, Esq., Supervisor Internal Revonue, Lindell Hotel. Almost immediately after mailing the above I sent another letter, as follows : Supervisor's Office, St. Louis, May 11, 1875. Sir: — Please inform me if the distilleries, situated in the First District of Missouri, seized by your authority yesterday (the 10th inst.) were at the time of seizure operated according to law and regulations. Also, whether officers in charge of them were at their respective posts of duty. Very Respectfully, John McDonald, Supervisor Internal Revenue. To Lucien Hawley, Supervisor Internal Revenue, Lindell Hotel. 170 SECEET3 OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. To this latter note I received on the same day the foUowing reply : Lindell Hotel, May 11th, 1875. Sir. — I have received your note of this date, making inquir ies in reference to the distilleries which were seized yesterday, and the officers belonging to them. Two of the distilleries only were running at the time; two others had spirits in the warehouse, and one was entirely vacated. Whether or not at the time of the seizure they were operating according to law cannot yet be determined until we make a more full examination, as in the haste with which we were compelled to visit the distilleries, we might fail to dis cover the irregularities, if they had existed at the time. The officers in charge were on duty, so far as I know, except at the distillery of Teuscher, at that place the storekeeper was absent at the time of seizure, and did not return for several hours, the distillery being in full operation until shut down by my orders. Very respectfully, Lucien Hawley, Supervisor. John McDonald, Esq., Supervisor Internal Revenue. Eeports of every character were flying fast, some of which reached the President, and a constant irritation was the result. The foUowing letter from Gen. Babcock shows wh it was disturbing the Presi dent and himself • Dear Friend; Your enemies, to do you harm, report to the Secretary that you are on 'Change and accuse him of being in the interest of some Kentucky people, and boast that you can prove it, etc. I tell him I am sure it is not so and that your enemies start these stories. __..- A lot of gaugers and storekeepers want (ike ^jjeach and say they can prove that McDonald is in it, etc., etc. No such per son has been allowed to make any such statement, as they want to be protected. Keep your head level and undertake ACCEPTANCE OF 'MY EESIGNATION. 171 nothing you cannot carry out for certain — and beware of skunks — who profess to be friends; they wish simply to de ceive you and your sincere friend, B. Finch. May 14th, p. m. *Send under cover to Geo. D. Benjamin, 2,100 Pa., Avenue. Notwithstanding the fact that I tendered my resignation to the President on the 23d of April, it was not until a month later that it was accepted. Gen. Bristow urged my dismissal, because he was then well informed of my connection with the Eing and was equally well convinced of the President's connivance if not indeed his direct complicity with all the whiskey frauds. But with the hope that I might be able to cover a major part of the most damaging evidence, I was continued in office until the 25th of May, as will be seen by the following ac ceptance of my resignation by Mr. Bristow : Treasury Department, Washington, May 22d, 1875. Sir. — By direction of the President, your resignation as Supervisor of Internal Revenue is hereby accepted, to take effect upon the qualification of your successor. I am very Respectfully, B. H. Bristow, Secretary. Mr. John McDonald, St. Louis, Mo. The doubtful reader may desire to know why, if the President was my co-conspirator, he accepted my resignation at aU, and also why he did not in terpose his authority and suppress Mr. Bristow, "Note.— This letter, bearing the signature suggested by the bull-finch Gen. Babcock sent as a present to my wife, as heretofore.explained, is reproduced on the following page in fac-simile. fa<*U*t £» *&!> %?***- Aw. HfOrti ~& t"- d* *S *^<~ . /£> ¦ May 26th, 1875. ) Gen. O. E. Babcock (Cut out.) : If you don't protect the subordinate officers in St. Louis, who are now in *w™m», ]igrit"4"g ""'!) Rtrikei in "W^ingtnn Hawlfiy in aftgr^roM. (Signed.) A Friend Who Kn^ows. The explanation of the sentence contained in the letter, " I received your favor some time since, and am pleased with what you say," is an acknowledge ment of a declaration^ made in the letter, to which this is an answer, "that I would stand by him (Babcock) and the President until hell burnt down, and froze over, and I should then skate across and stand by them on the other side." I quote my language in fuU — although it is profane enough for a Cardinal of the twehth century — in order that the reader may know the character of the correspond ence between the President, Gen. Babcock, and myself. The day previous to the seizures rioted before, Mr. Newcomb, of the firm of Newcomb-Buchanan Distilling Co., of Louisville, was in Secretary Bristow'B office, and, in the course of the conversa tion, the Secretary asserted his intention of seizing tkJ w ;ionKv«l /»..~CUe^J **<- e^wu^ «^._ Uc^ Wa, iLU-Hn. .-jO NOTE FROM A FRIEND WHO KNOWS, May 26th, 1875. ctumwa emcc, .„....vtoua,Miaw*Kyt^ MY FIEST INDICTMENT. 179 all the distilleries in the West on the following day. When Mr. Newcomb left the Treasury Department, he repeated the declaration of the Secretary to a Mr. Barnes, an employe of the Newcomb-Buchanan Co., who at once sent the news to Bollman & O Tiara, rectifiers in St. Louis, in a dispatoh in which the phrase " Lightning will strike St. Louis on Monday," was used. It was to this telegram Gen. Babcock refers in the letter just quoted. The anonymous letter of warning which he sent me to ascertain the author, I retained until the General possibly forgot to remind me again that he wanted it returned. I remember that upon receipt I showed the anonymous letter to a number of my friends, all of whom concluded,' with myself, that it - was in the handwriting of Joseph Fitzroy, who was the collector of the Ring, and knew of the Presi dent's and Gen. Babcock's connection with the con spiracy. The signature, H. B. Brown, and his instructions for me to direct my answer to the same person as before, has already been explained. It will be ob served that in all the letters he omits the place from whence they were written. This was only another precaution used to prevent detectives from discovering the writer, should the correspondence fall into their hands. In the early part of June the Grand Jury, then in session in St. Louis, returned an indictment against me, and also against Joyce, Fitzroy, and Bevis, a distiller, charging us with " wiKuUy and maliciously destroying public records." On the day after this was found, I was arrested by U. S. Marshal New- 180 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. comb, and gave bail in the sum of $5,000. But this step only increased the anxiety of the President and Gen. Babcock, and on the 17th I wrote Gen. B., informing him of my indictment, but conveyed my assurance that he and the President could only be reached criminaUy through me, and whatever the ordeal might be, I should go through it without be traying them in the slightest. I asked him to use his influence to have Maj. Gunther retained in the service. Following is his reply : Dear Friend : Got yours of the 17th ; glad to hear all will be right : shall do all in my power to retain your friend ; it will not be my fault if I do not, as I will convince you when me meet. I don't think Dyer your friend. I still believe there is some one who is near you or the Colonel who betrays you ; trust none. Where is the Colonel ? Regards to all. Keep cool. Will explain a good many things when I see you. Yours truly, June 22d. B. F. Inch. It wiU be observed that in this letter, of which a a f ac-simile is herewith given, he uses the signature "bull-finch," in yet another abbreviated style. < The first part of this letter is readily understood as in answer to mine of the 17th, but the reference to Dyer caUs for a somewhat extended explana tion: Col. D. P. Dyer was at this time the United States District Attorney for the eastern district of Missouri. The prosecution of aU the whiskey cases devolved upon him, and how effectively he performed his duties, will be seen hereafter. Some time ago, the reader will remember, I explained the arrangements by which I received Gen, Babcock's ¦VilVo-B^IL W IKmahA ltf{u~ J /U«. ii^». ^ X 'IMU.1L — ~ftjL£<*/ 182 SECEETS OF THE GEE AT WHISKEY EING. confidential letters through B. B. Grimes, the quartermaster at St. Louis. This man Grimes now plays a somewhat important part in the concluding acts of the whiskey drama. When the Grand Jury began returning true bills of indictment against members of the ring, Gen. Babcock, being much alarmed, wrote to Grimes, instructing him to wait upon Col. Dyer in person and, to use the General's expression, " sound him; " to ascertain, after grad ual approaches would permit such a proposition, if the Colonel would not conduct the prosecution in such a manner as to visit the President's friends with special leniency. jQrimes. performed the services required of him and came up to see me directly after his interview with Col. Dyer. He was in exceUent spirits, and told me that the Colonel would be governed by his instructions from Washington. Mr. Grimes appre hended no trouble whatever, feehng sure that everything could be hushed up or nolle pross'd, and this was the purport of his letter to Gen. Babcock; but the General was not satisfied, as he explains in his letter to me of June 22d, and requested Grimes to have .another more pointed interview with Col. Dyer-. I shall never forget the comical seriousness pictured in Grimes' face when he called on me after his "pointed" talk with the Colonel; it was an ad mirably proportioned combination of despair, incre- duhty, and absolute wretchedness. I could not restrain my laughter, although the news was quite discouraging enough to have spread over the whole Whiskey Ring Hke an attack of cholera morbus. His aspect was one of those cQmpensating influ- GEIMES BECOMES VEEY SEEIOUS. 183 ences of nature in which some sweet is always mixed 'with the bitter. Grimes drew his chair up close to mine, and, although there was no one within ear-trumpet distance of us, he commenced in a low, slow, and serious monotone : " General, the jig is up." Then a long pause. "Col. Dyer is as ' determined as Bristow, and tells me emphaticaUy that if the President is in the Ring he is g©ing for him. ' ' Then another pause. ' ' I don't know what to make of it." Another pause. " But I've done all I can with him." Another pause. " Well, if he persists in covering the entire White House with disgrace, my suggestion would be to have him dismissed." Then, with an air of virtuous scorn and a contempt for minor scruples, having eased his burden of in formation, told me that he should write to Gen. Babcock fully. And thus we parted. Maj. Grimes never lost his sohcitude for our inter est, and whenever he received a letter from the White House he would search for me with special anxiety to dehver the conrmunications as soon as possible. When he was unable to find me he would mail notes like the foUowing, which I herewith copy verbatim, and do not therefore make myself amenable to the crime of extraordinary profanity which one of ihem contains : Depot Quartermaster's Office,) St. Louis, May 3d, 1875. j Dear General: Come to my office at once. I have an important letter from Washington that must be delivered to you in person. Yours truly, Grimes. 181 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. The foUowing note from Grimes was enclosed in an envelope containing Babcock's letters, forwarded to me at Ripon, Wis. : St. Louis, July 7th, 1875. Dear John I send you two letters. I would have sent them before, but things are not so safe as I would like. Your friend, Who Gets Letters for You Now and Then. P. S. Look out for breakers, by God I [See fac-simile on opposite page.] In this connection, while the name of Maj. E. B. Grimes and the part he acted in the whiskey drama is famihar, I desire to quote a part of his testimony given in the trial of the U. S. vs. 0. E. Babcock, and then leave him for a time to play shuttle-cock with the reader, using his conscience as the baU. Cross-Examination by Mr. Storrs. — Q. State, if anything, what McDonald said upon receiving any one of these letters from you, with regard to Gen. Babcock's complicity with the Ring. A. The only time I ever spoke to McDonald, I forget wheth er it was the first or the last letter I gave him ^ it was one or the other — I said: " McDonald, has Babcock anything to do with this thing?" He said: "Grimes, I don't believe he knows a bit more about it than you do, and," says he, "you don't know anything about it." Re-Direct Examination. — Q. Did be say in that same con versation that he, himself, did not know anything about the Whiskey Ring? A. Yes sir, he did. [Laughter.] The following letter wiU explain the anxious position General Babcock occupied; how he was haunted with the fear that either Col. Joyce or myseU, taking umbrage at some of his indiscreet expressions, would, to save ourselves, place the TWO MEMORANDUMS FROM QUARTERMASTER GRIMES, May 2, 1875. fypt $mftmftut*% ^$tu s&*^ , W- ^ y4-~-^-*. Sic^Z-r. S?£*-*tU> tZ*^; -e^>*Z~~t-t*^ZZ es&b*~- eh*& **>z£C^~^ - y" e/ ****- *** t ^Ue^yt^C^ ^yr^yC^i^ &*l£c-«-4* &*-*>-*-* -&*-c# f/M^-^e- ,^larx. .fea li3t* O^-. /fi^TTLs-n,*^ S? .fc&C*C~ V*f*e-*^r- j/?}^»- - 192 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. In the next letter, from Babcock, however, even as a buH-finch, (B. E.) he pipes Hke a craven, with notes of no doubtful import. It records his agony of mind Hke a phonograph, and grinds out his anxious fears with more Hteral distinctness. It is not only himself who is complaining at the confessional, but Hnked hand in hand and heart in heart, he leads with him his_jpMa2Lj;rvminis, PresjdjnJLjjrant^ on whose browvthe purplToTalitliorityseems bleached by con- tact^with the gorgon of villainy. [A f ao simile of this letter may be found on the opposite page :] July 14. Dear Priend : I am told that some valuable information, that was taken from a safe, was sent to Cincinnati to the care of one Maj. Blackburn, a lawyer of that city, and that it is believed it oan be purchased from him if enough money is paid. The price for it is high, but it is believed it can be purchased if price enough is paid, and that they are trying to buy it. Your friend, B. F. Does the reader want me to explain this pano rama of Grant and Babcock's infamy; shift the scenes until all the black lines are plainly discern ible? WeU, while my pen is to it and the people grown more morbid by looking upon the great fes tering body of corruption which I have here exposed to their view, I'U show them more. "This valuable information" Gen. Babcock re fers to, was stolen out of the safe of the U. S. District State Attorney's office at St. Louis, or at least I have been so informed. It consisted of evi dence fuUy establishing my guUt and pointing to President Grant and Gen. Babcock as accessories. //UW 7L&& J%iS -6>»u. h^6c<^^Ua., I^L . &Ay«~PtLu ¦> To oAfU CLou- ktUJ- (JkUl* Su^h>c fc^1^ <^ I" "put" nit* eUht TWji^Y "**~ *"tj - ' 194 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. " They are trying to buy it," means that the Presi dent, together with hirriself and others in the ring, were then negotiating with Blackburn for the evi dence, and they desire me to contribute a part of the necessary money. I did not regard the information spoken of as speciaUy damaging, because I knew that if the government officers here really meant to convict me that there was so "much evidence against us all that, like a river, it could not be exhausted by dip ping up the water while the source remained. I repHed to him in this manner, and the matter was ^not referred to again in our correspondence. , In the latter part of July, I left St. Louis and Avent up to my farm in Wisconsin, near JtiporL,. but /w$s not allowed to remain there long as aU the ' members of the Ring were now in deep distress, and they looked to me for assistance, sending me a dozen letters every day imploring me to return. Before leaving St. Louis for Wisconsin, I employed Judge Chester H. Krum to defend me from tne charges preferred in the indictment already aUuded to, and as he wiU figure largely from now until the close of this exposure, I wUl here introduce him to the reader. When Missouri was added to my district in 1870, Chester H. Krum was U. S. Attorney for that District, and I think he was one of President Grant's earliest appointees. After McKee, Eord and myself had completed our combination with the President to turn out crooked whiskey and devote the unpaid tax to cumulating a campaign fund, I spoke to Ford and asked him if Krum could be HELPING KEUM'S ELECTION. 195 depended upon to ignore the operations of the Ring. Mr. Ford repHed that he had advised with Mr, Krum upon the matter and that no trouble need be apprehended from that source. Subsequently I talked with Mr. Krum concerning the illicit whiskey, then being manufactured, but I never went into details with him, only enough to satisfy me that he knew what was going on. In the faU of 1872, Mr. Krum, having become im pressed with the idea that he could not continue in the office of U. S. district attorney without invit ing trouble by being drawn into comphcations which he felt certain would arise, concluded to resign and become a candidate for Circuit Judge at the ensu ing election. Directly after his nomination by the Repubhcan party of St. Louis he came to me for financial assistance. I gave him $600, and as I handed it to him he remarked: "Is this some of the Whiskey Ring money?" My reply was: Most assuredly ; do you think me foolish enough to give you money out of my own salary? " Then," said he, " if I need any more I wiU know where to get it." As he did not ask me for funds again, and was elected, the presumption is he needed very little outside assistance. Although he was elected for a term of six years he resigned almost as soon as I was indicted in order to defend me, and knowing who was connected with the Ring his idea.was, as he expressed to me, that he could make more money in appearing as attorney for those who might become involved. He no doubt expected to see the Presi dent and Gen. Babcock appear as defendants be fore the Grand Jury, then in session, should con- 196 SECEETS OF THE GEEAT WHISKEY EING. elude its labors. In fact he said : " AU you fellows wiU be brought into court before this thing ends," meaning that McKee* Maguire, Babcock and the President, etc., would all need his assistance. With this knowledge the reader can have a bet ter understanding of events as they are disclosed and comprehend the Judge's relation to members of the Ring. The following letter from him ad dressed to me while I was in Ripon, wiU serve as a comprehensive introduction of Judge Krum as a conspicuous character in this melo-drama. [This letter is produced in f ac-simile on the opposite page.] Krum & Madill, ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 307 Olive Street. (Private.) St. Louis, Aug. 10, 1875. Dear General : I think that matters are about ripe for our interview with U. S. G. Avery leaves to-night and is going to Long Branch. A friend of his here will write strongly as to matters before the Grand Jury. Newcomb will be within reach, I think, by the latter part of this week. If you think it advisable for me to go on, telegraph me : " Broke my leg this morning, cannot come," .and I will meet you at the Palmer House in Chicago. I shall register as Henry B. Gordon. Don't make any ar rangements about my going on unless it will do some good, and get all of your facts in shape. Yours, etc., C. H. K. This letter has reference to the active4fforts that were then being, made to secure the removal of Sec retary Bristow.) Avery, whom the Judge mentions as having hada friend to write a strong letter with reference to the actions of the Grand Jury, is Wm. 0- Avery, one of our Washington friends whom LETTER FROM CHESTER H. KRUM, August 10, 1875. KRUM & MA DILL. ATTORNEYS AT LAW 807 OLIVE STH.BST. St. lJ^^^