Like the rest of Lincoln’s cabinet Edwin Stanton
was gifted with massive talent, and as a necessary corollary, had an ego the
size of a barn. Indeed, some of Lincoln's closest friends voiced their concern
to Lincoln that Stanton just might go too far and try to run away with the
whole concern. Lincoln, however, was
curiously unfazed by their concerns. He drawled: “we may have to treat him as
they are sometimes obliged to treat a Methodist minister I know of out West. He
gets wrought up to so high a pitch of excitement in his prayers and
exhortations that they are obliged to put bricks in his pockets to keep him
down. We may be obliged to serve Stanton in the same way, but I guess we'll let
him jump awhile first.”'
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