Between the Lines Part 31

"M. leaves here to-night, you can rest fully satisfied all is right."

J. F. MANAHAN, Willards Hotel.

Poor Manahan was asleep to all this use of his name, of course. Martin did get anxious. He wrote me the following note and sent it to Merchant's Hotel:

Mr. Shaffer:

Dear Sir.--Have despatch from Manahan that you will call and see me here. Will be in at half past eleven to twelve, half past twelve to one, and at half past one.

Either wait for me or leave your address.

Yours, &c., M. E. MARTIN.

I called but failed to find Martin, and later I received the following from him:

Mr. Shaffer:

I waited for you all the early part of the day, at B & F's, and then left a note for you, requesting you to leave your address.

Am unwell; if it is important you should see me before morning, please come up to my hotel, Gramercy Park House, if not, please meet me at B & F's, nine to nine thirty, t-morrow morning.

Yours truly, MARTIN.

I met him in the morning, as appointed. He was hungry to meet me, just as I wanted it.

I found Mr. Martin to be a man evidently well fitted for the job, in appearance tall, rather lank, energetic and gentlemanly. We visited off and on, nearly all day. He believed, from what I told him, that I and my friends were financially interested through Manahan. He explained his position as representing Mr. Trenholm, Secretary of the Confederate Treasury. He told how he had formerly run cotton through the lines on the Mississippi river.

Now that the tobacco had been seized, his plan was to press a claim upon our government, representing the tobacco to belong to Union people. He told me he had papers at his hotel which would corroborate him.

In the afternoon, nearly dark, we parted in the Howard House (then at the corner of Maiden Lane and Broadway) with the understanding that I was returning to Baltimore and Manahan, satisfied with his a.s.surances.

My man (Mr. Kraft), who had been following me, to be handy if help was needed, and who had been watching for the signal to make the arrest, came to me hastily, thinking he might have missed the signal, but I a.s.sured him it was all right to let Martin go. I had a further purpose, I wanted to get the doc.u.ments Martin had spoken of as being at his hotel.

Kraft and I dined at the old Lovejoy Hotel (then at the corner of Beekman Street and Park Row) and afterwards went up to the Gramercy Park Hotel, then quite a fas.h.i.+onable hostelry. We waited until Martin came out of the dining-room. He was in his dinner suit, and was quite a dude for such a raw-boned Southerner; he was surprised to see me again. I told him I wanted some further talk. I asked if we could not go to his room. After starting for up stairs I introduced my friend.

When in his room I informed him that my sole object was to obtain the information needed by the Government. Any man's face would be a study under such circ.u.mstances. Martin was game; his first question was: "Well, what is your name?" "Smith," I replied. "Oh, I mean your right name," he said. (There are some advantages in the name Smith, I really needed no alias.)

Martin thought a treat was "on him," and he paid it. I then invited him to show me the doc.u.ments he had described when down town. I took possession of all. They gave a very good history of his doings on the Mississippi river, and his connection with the Confederate Treasury Department.

In answer to his question, I told him that I did not know what the government would do with him, but I was sure his proposed claim against the government would not be collectible, and perhaps he would be detained until the end of the war, to prevent a recurrence.

Pending my first call on Martin, I visited General Dix, commanding the Department of the East. He declined to endorse my order to make the arrest of Martin, unless I explained fully the case. Rather than do so, just at that time, I concluded to disregard courtesy and take my man away without his endors.e.m.e.nt, which I did.

The "Gold Room" which was then more important than the Stock Exchange, was in Twenty-fourth Street, back of the Fifth Avenue Hotel; it was open evenings. I permitted Martin to send there for money, and to advise his friends that he would be away for a few days.

During the evening Mr. Martin said to me, "Last evening, when I was expecting you, waiting for you, I lay here reading Colonel Baker's book on the Secret Service. He had no case as slick as this. Smith, you were so frank and open, I would have told you anything you wanted to know."

I presume he was reading Baker's book to see how such cases as his were treated, not dreaming of an ocular demonstration so near at hand. At midnight we started for Baltimore.

The following from the Richmond "Whig" explains better, perhaps, than I can, just what Martin and the case meant, from the Confederate viewpoint:

(From the Richmond "Whig")

The Tobacco Transaction--A Prominent New York House Concerned.

"We have obtained the main facts of the great tobacco speculation, in reference to which there were so many rumors last week. It appears that an agent of a New York mercantile house, whose name it is deemed inexpedient to publish at this time, proposed to certain parties in this city to contract with them for the delivery of a specific quant.i.ty of manufactured tobacco at Fredericksburg, he undertaking for his princ.i.p.als to remove the tobacco from that point, with the implied consent of the United States authorities, provided the Confederate authorities would indicate their consent, in writing, to the proposed transaction. The tobacco was to be paid for on its delivery at Fredericksburg. The New York house was vouched for by an influential member of Congress, who had intimate business relations with the concern.

One of the Confederate bureaus became identified with the scheme, by reason of the representations which had been made to its officers, and by the prospect of advantageous results from the fulfillment of the proposed agreement by the parties on the other side.

The contract was accordingly entered into, "sealed, signed and delivered," with a satisfactory endors.e.m.e.nt from the predecessor of the present Secretary of War, who was no doubt induced to believe that it was "all right." Nothing was said in the contract about bacon. The quid pro quo was money.

In execution of the contract on this side, about four thousand boxes of fine to extra manufactured tobacco were purchased here, at rates ranging from four dollars to seven dollars per pound, Confederate currency. Of this amount one thousand two hundred and seventy-three boxes, weighing one hundred and thirty-two thousand five hundred and seventy-eight pounds, and valued at seven hundred thousand dollars, were forwarded to Fredericksburg in charge of Dr. Rose, who was induced by a.s.surances from Richmond, which he could not discredit, to act as consignee and custodian of the tobacco until delivered according to agreement. He was not in any sense, as we understand, a party to the contract. What became of the tobacco is known to our readers. Dr. Rose was carried off by the Yankees for engaging in contraband traffic.

The name of General Singleton has been connected with this transaction. We state on the authority of an officer of the bureau referred to that he has no lot nor part in it, directly or indirectly. The loss of the tobacco will fall upon the contractors here unless the New York parties to the contract will fulfill their obligations by indemnifying the bureau with which they contracted."

After action by Congress, President Lincoln endeavored to extend some relief to persons within the Confederacy who were Unionists at heart; they were to be encouraged by allowing them to work their products up to and through the lines. What was intended as a great beneficent proposition was seized upon by the Confederate government to help itself financially.

The following order will explain the experiences with cotton on the Mississippi river. I presume these orders drove Martin to turn his attention to tobacco in the east:

Headquarters, Major General Washburn, District West Tennessee.

Memphis, May 10, 1864.

"The practical operation of commercial intercourse from this city with the States in rebellion, has been to help largely to feed, clothe, arm and equip our enemies."

"To take cotton, belonging to the Rebel Government to Memphis, and convert it into supplies and greenbacks, and return to the lines of the enemy, or place the proceeds to the credit of the Rebel Government, in Europe, is safe and easy.

"I have undoubted evidence that large amounts of cotton have been and are being brought here to be sold, belonging to the Rebel Government."

"It is therefore ordered, that on and after the 15th of May, 1864, the lines of the Army at Memphis be closed and no person be permitted to leave the city, except by river, without a special pa.s.s."

"By order of Major General C. C. WASHBURN."

A similar order was issued by Colonel Farrar, at Natchez, Miss., and by General Sherman at Vicksburg, in which they said:

"The amount of trade through the lines at all these points, with the isolated localities, where trade stores were situated, was estimated at not less than a half million dollars, daily."

On the 6th of March, 1864, General Roberts, with one thousand five hundred men, and with naval help, left Fortress Monroe for Fredericksburg. He captured and destroyed three hundred and eighty thousand dollars worth of tobacco.