with their lawless brethren who have brought such odium upon them,
and now begin to realize the necessity of sustaining men in enforcing
the laws.

"Whatever may be the result of the pending election, I believe the
most serious danger is already past.

"I shall not fail to exercise great forbearance in enforcing
restrictions upon speech and the press. I have enforced my order
in only one case, and that so clear that the offender fully confessed
and asked pardon on any terms. It will not probably be necessary
for me to exercise any control over the press hereafter.

"Your accurate appreciation of the real difficulty here, and the
strong and generous manner in which you have sustained me, will do
more good in Missouri than to have doubled the troops under my
command. This I hope soon to show you by sending additional forces
to the front."

With the above letter to the President I inclosed the following:

"St. Joseph, Mo., Oct. 21st, 1863.

"General: It is with very great pleasure that I can inform you of
the satisfactory condition of things in this section of Missouri.
There is more security for men and property in northwestern Missouri
than there has been since the rebellion began. There is not a
spark of rebellious feeling left here, and all citizens seem to
be, and I believe are, ready to discharge all the duties of loyal
men.

"The people are truly grateful to you for your efforts to protect
them, and you may rest assured will never fail you in any emergency.

"Yours truly,
"Willard P. Hall
"Major-Genl. Schofield, etc."

A LETTER ON THE CONDITION OF MISSOURI

The following was written by me, November 1, 1863, to Mr. James L.
Thomas of St. Louis, in answer to what was understood to be an
attempt to obtain some expression of partizan preference as between
the "pestilent factions":

"In reply to your letter of Oct. 30th, I will state that in some
important particulars you entirely misapprehend my remarks made
during our conversation on the 29th. I spoke of the lawless acts
committed in some portions of Missouri by men claiming to be radicals
and acting in the name of radicalism; and asserted that leading
men and papers of the party had failed to do their duty by disavowing
and frowning down this lawlessness; that in this course they had
been guilty of great folly, and had brought odium upon their party
in Missouri and throughout the country; that they had