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TOOK NOTHING BUT MONEY.
During the War Congress appropriated $10,000 to be expended by the
President in defending United States Marshals in cases of arrests and
seizures where the legality of their actions was tested in the courts.
Previously the Marshals sought the assistance of the Attorney-General
in defending them, but when they found that the President had a fund for
that purpose they sought to control the money.
In speaking of these Marshals one day, Mr. Lincoln said:
"They are like a man in Illinois, whose cabin was burned down, and,
according to the kindly custom of early days in the West, his neighbors
all contributed something to start him again. In his case they had been
so liberal that he soon found himself better off than before the fire,
and he got proud. One day a neighbor brought him a bag of oats, but the
fellow refused it with scorn.
"'No,' said he, 'I'm not taking oats now. I take nothing but money.'"
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Stories and Anecdotes About the Life of Abraham Lincoln
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