Savannah Morning News

The Colonel and the Soldier.

From the St. Paul Dispatch.

Col. Stephen A. Walker is now United States District Attorney at New York city. Walker had served the Union in the innocuous position of assistant paymaster. One dark day while Mr. Walker was sitting in his office, wondering how long he would be compelled to "loaf" on account of the inability of Uncle Sam to pay his boys in blue, a private soldier walked in and confronted him. The soldier belonged to a Connecticut regiment. Imagine the paymaster's surprise when the following conundrum was put to him by the soldier:

"Say, when do you expect to pay us men, anyway? We haven't had a cent now in three months,"

The assistant paymaster glared at his visitor and told him, neither politely nor religiously, that it was none of his business. This was far from satisfactory, and the soldier proceeded:

"But it is my business, and that is why I am here. The men are not treated with the slightest justice, and if the United States ain't able to pay them, why you can have a draft on a New York bank for the amount due my regiment."

Of course there was no alternative left to Col. Walker but to regard the Connecticut private as a crank. It remained only to be sure just how dangerous a crank he was.

"You'd better get back to your camp at once," said the paymaster. "Who gave you permission to come here, anyway? Come now, get out, or I will call the guard and have you placed under arrest. Git!"

Suiting the action to the word the doughty paymaster arose and proceeded to "fire" the private.

"Hold on a minute; take your hands off! I tell you I mean what I say. I belong to the -th Connecticut, and I can afford to pay my regiment, if there's no objection. Something ought to be done and I'm willing to advance the money. My name is Elias Howe!"

This gave an entirely new aspect to the case, and Paymaster Walker grew quite deferential. The man who stood before him was the famous inventor of the sewing machine. He could pay his regiment all their back pay; he had the will, and he had the money too. Col. Walker thought an apology was demanded. The apology was given and Elias received it with the air of a man who had but little to forgive.

"Well, Colonel," said he, "when this trouble is over, I want you to step down to New York some time and see me."

The "Colonel" lived then in Vermont, and when the war was closed he managed to find himself in New York. He had started a law office; that is to say, he helped to occupy the office of a few friends of his. Business was not specially active. One day Walker thought he would step in and see whether Elias Howe recalled the misadventure of the war. Two years had then elapsed. Elias Howe was there and his memory was good. They sat down together and talked. Howe was from Massachusetts, Walker from Vermont. The Howe Machine Company had just been organized. Walker was appointed its attorney. With an office in every city, town and hamlet in the civilized world, no wonder the Howe Machine Company was the foundation of Walker's fortunes.