Another letter, dated June 2d, in reply to a stranger in Baltimore, shows his tender regard for the private soldier, whether he be living or dead:
"I acknowledge with great gratification the receipt of your letter of the 30th, informing me of your patriotic attention to the grave of an Ohio soldier in your city on Decoration Day."
"Be pleased to accept my thanks for your generous action, and for courtesy of your letter."
To a friend in Congress he writes, on June 13th:
"You will as astonished as I was by this decision as to the right of the soldiers to vote at the Dayton National Asylum. But there it is. How can we get rid of it? Can you pass an act of Congress that will avoid it? I feel like saying that the soldiers must vote as usual, and test the case again. I merely call your attention to it with a view to Congressional action. You recollect the act ceding jurisdiction expressly provided that residents of Ohio retained the right to vote."
To the president of the Commercial Union of New York he wrote, June 20th:
"I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 10th instant, inviting me to attend a meeting of the Commercial Union of the State of New York, to be held in the city of Rochester on the 15th of July next, and to express my regret that prior engagements will prevent me from being present on that occasion. The subject to be considered—cheap transportation between the East and West—is of importance to the whole country, and especially to the State of Ohio. Earnestly hoping that the deliberations of the meeting will greatly promote this object, I remain, etc."
January 3, 1871, Governor Hayes delivered the following important annual message:
Fellow-Citizens of the General Assembly:
The official reports, which the law requires to be annually made to the governor, show that the affairs of the various departments of the State government and of the State institutions have been conducted during the past year in a satisfactory manner. I shall not attempt to give a synopsis of the facts and figures which the reports contain. The most important parts of them have been spread before the people of the State by the newspaper press, and the details which may be desired with a view to legislation can be best obtained from the reports themselves.