WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 04/13/1869

Description: HistoryForSaletm Autographs & Manuscripts Make an Offer Today and Get a Quick Response! Take a Look at this Week's Specials! WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 04/13/1869 - HFSID 17333 THE NEW ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY WRITES TO A FRIEND ABOUT HIS RELUCTANCE TO ACCEPT THE OFFICE AND HIS FIRST DAYS ON THE JOB WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON. ALS: "William a. Richardson" as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 4p, 8x10 lined paper, front and verso. Washington, D.C., 1869 April 13. On letterhead of the Treasury Department to William Robinson. Begins: "My dear friend". In full: "Your very kind letter of yesterday has just arrived, delivered to me here at my room in the Treasury building about 8 o'clock in the evening. I find myself with an immense amount of business on my hands, but, following the habit which I have had all my life, I never go to bed till all the work of the day is fully disposed of. Notwithstanding I am turned in loose upon this business wholly new to me, in an establishment which employs twenty eight hundred clerks in this building alone, obliged to read, construe, decide and act upon laws which I never before read, surrounded by subordinates whose loyalty is at least suspected, called upon to direct officers who have had more experience than I have, and all without the least suggestion, direction or instruction from Mr Boutwell. I have yet experienced no difficulty whatever. But I give to the duties all my time and all my energies, determined to do the best I can, while I remain, for the Secretary and the Government for the success of our good radical republican principles. I come here at 8 ½ A.M. & never leave my room till 5 P.M. when I go to dinner & immediately thereafter return and pass the evening here. And I go home with no work left undone. As yet I have had no time to see individuals in Washington outside of my own business rooms, where however I have met most of the great men; they having called upon me on business matters or to pay their respects: I have not yet [word crossed out] been presented to the President, in whose cabinet I shall sit as a member whenever Mr Boutwell is absent. Neither the Secretary nor I have yet had time to attend to that necessary matter of etiquette. But I will not say any more of my business here. Let that be till I see you when I can say many things which will interest you. As to my holding two offices I have no desire to do it. I came here with the greatest reluctance, against my fixed determination at first. In fact I should have telegraphed immediately to Mr Boutwell, when he sent for me, that I could not accept, had not all my freinds (sic) or nearly all insisted that I must go to Washington & see Mr B. personally before I declined. When I arrived I found so many persons, in whose opinion I put confidence, bent on having me remain, and all putting the matter to me on such high grounds, indicating great faith in my abilities and usefulness than I ever had, and the Secretary telling me that I need not resign anything at home but might resign here, whenever I could stay no longer, I was unable to resist. It was flattering to have Mr. Boutwell place so much confidence in me as to think I could be of service to him [three words crossed out] by remaining even for a little while only. And I agreed to accept temporarily. As soon as matters are well settled here I shall return to the quiet, professional and judicial duties in Massachusetts for which the studies and labor of my life have been devoted. I like my home and I like judicial life & I shall not abandon them for any political offices. The supreme judicial judgeship which I suppose I can never have while certain men have influence enough to control the appointments. The result of the recent effort has not surprised or disappointed me. I supposed from the beginning that the power behind the throne was too great for our excellent Governor to resist. It is great in Boston, but happily [word crossed out] does not extend as far as this place and is not known in Washington. You refer me to last Saturday's Republican for certain strictures. I suppose, but as I do not have that newspaper here I cannot see it. I wish you would have a copy of that number sent to me, as well as of all other similar articles which you write. You know I always enjoy your sharp criticisms and now I am so far away I shall miss them unless you send them to me. Keep the people as quiet as you can about my holding two offices for a little while and I will do the best I can to get home at no distant day. If they make a fuss about it I shall return at once and that will only embarrass Mr Boutwell, and you may be sure that he has enough to trouble him now. Personally I would not object to returning tomorrow. Don't publish my letter in the newspapers and if you make use of any of the information I give you don't quote it as coming from me. What I am doing & how I do it you can easily learn from persons who come here & return. I have written in great haste and have no time to read it, as I want to put it in the post tonight before the mail closes. With many thanks to you for taking the trouble to write to me, and still more for the many kind expressions you have uttered in my behalf, & for which I shall ever feel under great obligation and the truth of which I hope I shall never falsify. I remain your friend &". Mr. Boutwell was GEORGE S. BOUTWELL, who served as Grant's Secretary of the Treasury from 1869-1873 (he resigned to run for the U.S. Senate upon Grant being elected to a second term). Despite his desire to leave office early, Richardson served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during Boutwell's entire term, and he served as Grant's Secretary of the Treasury from March 17, 1873 to June 3, 1874. In his last months in office, WILLIAM ADAMS RICHARDSON (1821-1896) became embroiled in the "Sanborn Incident". John Sanborn, who was hired by Richardson under a Congressional act to recover unpaid taxes, kept much of what he had collected. Congress investigated, and, although there was no evidence of direct involvement by Richardson, his removal was demanded. Grant responded by appointing Richardson to a position on the Massachusetts Court of Claims in 1874. Ink slightly smudged at signature and some words (all completely legible). Lightly creased with folds, vertical fold nicks the "A" of signature. ½-inch separations at blank right margins at mid-horizontal fold and at lower margin at left vertical fold, lower right corners of both sheets chipped away. Minor show through of ink. Pencil notes (unknown hand) at mid-right margin of signature page. Overall, fine condition. See more material from these signers: WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON See more listings in our LAW & ORDER (334) category. Please note that this is an authentically signed item. We do not sell autograph copies or signature reprints Click main eBay images to see larger versions Images shown may contain our company watermark. The actual document does not contain this watermark Certificate of Authenticity This item has been authenticated and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by our parent company, Gallery of History, Inc. We financially stand behind our COA. 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Price: 700 USD

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

End Time: 2025-01-23T21:47:17.000Z

Shipping Cost: 14.85 USD