Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 September 1885 — The Re-Union of the Old Ninth at Logansport. [ARTICLE]

The Re-Union of the Old Ninth at Logansport.

Ajtd n Letter from Gen. milroy.

. The annual re-union of the 9th Indiana infantry, was held at Logansport last week. General Milroy, once Colonel of the regiment, Is President of the regimental [re-union association, and being unable to be* present, sent the following characteristic letter: Unitki('States Indian Service, ) Agency. > Fort Simcoe, W. T. Aug. 12,1885. ) .-General I. C- B. Sum an. My Dear Sir:— As the 26 and 27 of August, 1885. the time for the reunion •of fche survivors of our dear old Ninth, at Logansport, Indiana, is coming near, and I fiud it will be impossible for me to be there, I desire you to be able to answer, when my name is called, “absent and accounted for,” and as our comrades of the Ninth Indiana Volunteers, at their last reunion, did me the honor to make me the President of their Association, it is right that I should give them a just excuse for my absence, which is brieily as follows: J In an evil hour, over thirteen years ago, I accepted office ip the Indian service of our Government. 1 soon found that said service was laborious aad perplexing, and the meanest and most disreputable branch of the Government sefvice, and afforded no margin to an honest man, beyond a living, to lay up any treasure on' earth, but afforded a wide margin for laying up treasure iu heaven. I concluded to re-

main in said service so long as able to • discharge my official duties to the satisfaction of the Government, as it afforded a subsistence for my family and self. So I continued to accept ap- « pointments of lour year terms, each, up to my present term, which commenced in July, ’B2, and would end July 18th, 1886. But during my pres- . ent term, our Government, by the fiat of the people, changed hands, and its control passed into the hands of a party that had for 25 years been out of power, and hungry for office. “But as a law of the United States declare, that each Indian agent shall hold his office for the term of four years and until his successor is duly appointed ..and qualified,” and as the President upon taking the reias of power had stated in substance that lie would make no removals of competent office: s who were properly discharging ilieir official duties- except upon •charges of official misconduct, to be proven—l felt pretty safe, and conelud-' ed to servo out the balance of my term in peace. But in this I was disappointed, as, under date of April 2711 i last. 1 received irom the Huu. L. Q C Lamar, ex-Brigadier General, C. S. A. now Secretary of the Interior Department, Government, U. S. A., an abrupt request for my resignation, without a word of explanation as to the reason for his request. Under the cireum-, .stances, such a request implies an official censure for some official wrong, and an unquestioning compliance with it on my part would have been an implied confession of wrong. 1 therefore. wrote the Hon. L. Q. C. L. in substance that not being in the military. but Civil Service of. ;he Government 1 would decline prompt obedience to his order or request-, till informed of the grounds or reason for the~same. That if ibwas based on any charge effecting

iny official integrity I demanded u •copy or statement of tbe same, and opportunity to refute it before 1 would obey such order. But if said request was based on party and political rontons only, I would resign at once on being informed of that fact, as 1 recognized the political light his partv to all Government offices as last ns the same were legally and properly vacated. Receiving no answer to my letter, after several weeks 1 wrote again and afterwards a third and fourth time urging that the uncertainty of tin tenure of my office was both unpleasant and unjifst as it prevented no making any ijefinate plans for the fn ture. But I received uo answer till two days ago, I received from the Commissioner Indian Affairs a letter enclosing a paper signed “Grover Cleveland”, containing the terrible words, ’You are hereby suspended from the office of Agent for tbe Indians of tbe Yakajna Agency in Washington territory.” So comrades,’ your President is suspended (officially) I don't know how high above the earth ; and in that dangling position is patiently awaiting the arrival of his Democratic successor to take him down and strip him of office and let him go hence, etc. This, comrades, is my principal excuse for n6t being with you, and I trust you will, deem It sufficient. As for my suspension I have reason for bihMhf that {its attimus was deeper And beyond party division, «Ad is

based on old rebel spite. The Government of the C. $. A. offered a reward lor my head ip the early part of 1863, payable in Confederate currency. The ex-Confederato Brigadier, dow at the head of the Interior Department, was instrumental iu taking my official head and has earned that reward, which I "hope will be paid to him in the currency of the Confederate Government he served so faithfully. Dearcomrads ot the Ninth, there is rib place this side of heaven that would afford me more pleasure to be than in your midst, but fate will have it otherwise. lam now in my seventieth year, and of course my term of life service on this planet must soon-jeease. But if my life is spared till your next annual reunion, aud health, linauee. etc., will permit, I will be with you. Accept a most sincere and hearty God bless you all, fronj your comrade. Truly,

R. H. MILROY.

Tlie Fair Oaks saloon is no more. A gang of toughs from Mount Airy and Nubbin Ridge went there about two weeks ago, for a general drunk. They carried out their purpose so well that an observer reported that there wet'© twenty drunks and three fights during the night. Thef took complete possession of the saloon and vvlien'fheproprietor, Edward Johnson and his family, surveyed the wreck of matter and the crush of doors and windows in the morning, they “atf once packed up their portable propeity and departed. They bad got enough of saloon keeping. A number of persons, mostly ladies, of Remington, have been experimenting in silk worm culture during the present year, on a large scale. The result we are sorry to say, has not been encouraging. The work of attending the worms is wearisome, and owing to the exceedingly unpleasant odor of the creatures, very disagreeable. Added to this the price of the cocoons is so low as to leave but little profit for the work. We understand that the parties engaged in the experiment are unanimous in the opinion that they don’t want any more silk worms in their’s.