"'Lieutenant Tappan, of ---- Regiment Volunteers, desires transfer to ---- Regiment, Regular service, and assigned to staff duty with present rank. If the only objection is Lieutenant Tappan's relationship to the Secretary of War, that objection is overruled. "'A. LINCOLN.' "Of course this threw the responsibility of breaking the regulation on Secretary Stanton. We never heard anything more about the transfer." General Fry says, "A story has long been current that Lincoln sent an application for office with a note to the Secretary of War, directing that a letter of appointment be prepared for the man to the office he sought; that the applicant returned to the President and announced that Stanton refused to obey the order; that the President looked disappointed, but merely expressed his regret at the result, and remarked that he had not much influence with the administration. The anecdote has generally been interpreted as meaning that Lincoln could not control Stanton. The inference is erroneous. Lincoln, so far as I could discover, was in every respect the actual head of the administration, and whenever he chose to do so he controlled Stanton as well as all the other Cabinet ministers." Ex-Representative John A. Kasson, of Iowa, says, "Numerous officers in the field had written me to have Colonel ----, of ---- Iowa Regiment, promoted to be a brigadier-general. The colonel deserved the promotion, but it was difficult to obtain. At last there came an Iowa resignation, and I went to the President, who signed an order to the Secretary of War to let Colonel ---- have the commission in place of the resigning brigadier. Mr. Stanton was seated on a sofa talking with a friend. I told him my errand, and handed him the President's order. He glanced at it, and said, in an angry tone,-- "'I shan't do it, sir; I shan't do it!' and passed the paper up to his clerk. "Utterly amazed at these words, and indignant at his tone, I inquired why he refused to obey the President's order. "'It isn't the way to do it, sir, and I shan't do it.' "I was going on to speak of the merits of the officer and of the proceeding, my wrath rising, when he cut me off with,-- "'I don't propose to argue the question with you, sir; I shan't do it.' "Utterly indignant, I turned to the clerk and asked to withdraw the paper. "'Don't you let him have it, sir,' said Stanton; 'don't let him have it.' "The clerk, whose hands were trembling like an Eastern slave before his pasha, withdrew the document which he was in the act of giving to me. I felt my indignation getting too strong for me, and, putting on my hat and turning my back to the Secretary, I slowly went to the door, with set teeth, saying to myself, 'As you will not hear me in your own forum, you shall hear from me in mine.'