or and of office. But to you, General Butler, whose military
career is made up of the blunder and slaughter of Big Bethel;
of the powder explosion at Fort Fisher; of the engineering
at Dutch Gap; of the "bottling-up" at Bermuda Hundred; of
the trading with the rebels through the lines in North Carolina;
of the scandals of New Orleans; to you, who were ordered by
General Grant to go home in disgrace; to you whose best service
had been, if you, too, had stayed at home, I have no such
tribute to offer. When Benedict Arnold taunts Jefferson that
he did not go into battle in the Revolution, when Aaron Burr
taunts John Adams with want of patriotism, then it will be
time for you to boast yourself over the men who performed
the duties of civil life during the Rebellion."

We have had turbulent and exciting times in our State and
National politics before and since that day. But I think
there has been nothing in Massachusetts, and so far as I am
aware there has seldom been anything in the country anywhere
like the years from 1869 until 1877, when General Butler's
power was at its height. You could hardly take up a morning
paper without dreading that you should read of the removal
from some position of honor of some brave honest soldier who
had deserved well of his country, and the substitution of
some disreputable person in his place. All the dishonesty
of the time seemed to be combined and rallied to his support.
Three of his trusted lieutenants in different parts of the
Commonwealth were convicted of crime and sent to the State
Prison. Another was detected in crime punishable by imprisonment
in the State Prison, but escaped prosecution by a compromise.
Still another was compelled to flee the country for a series
of forgeries, finding refuge in a South American State with
which we had no treaty of extradition. Still another was
indicted for frauds which wrecked a National bank, and escaped
conviction by a technicality. Still another was compelled
to flee from the Commonwealth by the detection of some notorious
frauds. And now more recently, in 1898, another has been
arrested, a fugitive from justice, and brought back to Massachusetts,
having wrecked two banks and embezzled their funds.

In the autumn of 1883 General Butler was a candidate for
reelection. He was so confident that he had prepared his
grounds for a magnificent illumination. But he was signally
defeated. I took a leading part in the campaign. I giv