A strong effort is on foot by naval officers who have been
retired and their friends to set aside the law and the action under which they
were retired. Working to an end persistently, without organized opposition,
they may, with a weak Congress, effect their object, though to the public
detriment. It would be easy for me to yield to my sympathies for these men and
their families, who are in many cases most deserving of sympathy, could I
disregard my duty and the public interest. To oppose them is to incur unforgiving
resentment; to yield will be a disregard of my obligations. I shall not be
sustained in standing firm by my friends; nevertheless my course is plain. I
have prepared a letter that gives my views, which I will send to the two
houses. A call is made for all correspondence that has taken place, as well as
the meagre records of the Retiring Board. The correspondence cannot be
collected without time, but the argument and record can go in at once.
Have received the prize law by Dana and Judge Sprague and
made suggestions and corrections. On scrutinizing, it appears to need more
emendations than I at first supposed.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30,
1864, p. 532
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