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PROPERTY FROM A CALLIFORNIA ESTATE
GRANT, Ulysses (1822-1885), President. Autograph letter signed ("U.S. Grant"), as President, to Secretary of the Treasury George S. Boutwell, Long Branch, N.J., 24 July 1871. 2 pages, 8vo, ruled paper.
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GRANT, Ulysses (1822-1885), President. Autograph letter signed ("U.S. Grant"), as President, to Secretary of the Treasury George S. Boutwell, Long Branch, N.J., 24 July 1871. 2 pages, 8vo, ruled paper.
THE PRESIDENT SEEKS TO REVERSE A DECISION "APPROVED WITHOUT REFLECTION." Grant writes his Treasury Secretary from his summer retreat on the Jersey shore: "The consolidation of the 2d & 3d districts of Ala. if approved by me, was approved without reflection. There is no communication between the two districts by rapid transit except by circuitous routes, through Ga. or Miss. They are separated by Mountains through which none but the worst of country roads pass. If the consolidation has not yet been consummated, or if the Collector & Assessor to be relieved have not yet closed their accounts and ceased to act, I would revoke the order. There is I believe but three Col. [collector] districts in Ala. while there are six Congress districts."
A letter that vividly reflects the strong and the weak aspects of Grant's presidency: an initial blunder made through oversight, but a plain and frank acknowledgment of error and a desire to correct it. The Treasury Department was a recurring source of trouble for Grant and his administration. Boutwell, his first Secretary, resigned following the outcry over the Department's role in Jay Cooke's cornering of the gold market. Two subsequent Treasury chiefs, William Richardson and Benjamin Bristow, were both forced to resign due to scandals over officials pocketing government tax funds.
THE PRESIDENT SEEKS TO REVERSE A DECISION "APPROVED WITHOUT REFLECTION." Grant writes his Treasury Secretary from his summer retreat on the Jersey shore: "The consolidation of the 2d & 3d districts of Ala. if approved by me, was approved without reflection. There is no communication between the two districts by rapid transit except by circuitous routes, through Ga. or Miss. They are separated by Mountains through which none but the worst of country roads pass. If the consolidation has not yet been consummated, or if the Collector & Assessor to be relieved have not yet closed their accounts and ceased to act, I would revoke the order. There is I believe but three Col. [collector] districts in Ala. while there are six Congress districts."
A letter that vividly reflects the strong and the weak aspects of Grant's presidency: an initial blunder made through oversight, but a plain and frank acknowledgment of error and a desire to correct it. The Treasury Department was a recurring source of trouble for Grant and his administration. Boutwell, his first Secretary, resigned following the outcry over the Department's role in Jay Cooke's cornering of the gold market. Two subsequent Treasury chiefs, William Richardson and Benjamin Bristow, were both forced to resign due to scandals over officials pocketing government tax funds.