The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-07-20
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON JUDGE
DOUGLASS CHICAGO SPEECH
MR.. DOUGLASS sPEEcn


From the naily Pcnlsylvanan, July lol
We must confess ourselves disappointed in the charac
ter Of the speech made by this gentleman at Chicago the
other day, think all true friends of the democratic
party have been IL is not what the senator's friends
hal anticipated in any particular FAR relates the
differences lac has had with his party friends 1t was not
expected that he would confess in his course du
ring the last session of Congress- that lac would with
draw the many ungenerous sentiments be had uttered
against the administration and others touching the Kan
sas imbogo but II expected that he woaId present
a calm, clear and impartial review OF his own course
and whilst claiming for himself honesty of purpose and
patriotic motives, he would concede as much 20 the pr-
ident and the overwhelming majority of true democrats
in Congress who differed with him. only on ono but
many, very many questions during the session 1t
hoped that he would treat the question of admitting
Kansas into the Union under the Locompton constitution
past sse,7 question which had been disposed OF
and In reference To which the party had taken its po
son by the action Of the majority and that he would
concede that the minority, OF whom he is the leader
bound to acquicsco Ia and sustain that decision
that he would labor to mitigate rather than magnify the
which he affects to discover in the action of his
party, aud in the policy OF administration which he
assisted to bring into power 1t WAS believed also that
he would seek to assuage tho angry feelings that had
arisen between himself and his fellow democrats far
possible But in all these particulars are dsappon
ed His effort is devoted to the Of Judge Douglas
and to that only His policy, sayings, and doings; his
consistency and pride Of position maintained and vim
dicated regardless of the feelings of others He assumes
with air of arrogance that the struggle he had
Win Ills party lflenuH principle, no Tor IL
they against it and that he right and dsntercsed
aud they all wrong and all selfish lie could not treat
the issues Is presenting reasonable ground for honest
difference of opinion. He ranks himself member
of the party heretofore and repudates the doc
trines of Mr. Lincoln his republican competitor for the
Senate, and yet at tho time abors to put the action
of his party in the most offensive light before the
world He charges that it attempted to ''consummate
vile fraud which he resisted to the utmost ave re-
sisted says he, ''unt the attempt Abandoned
Nor is he at all satisfied with the law it finally passed
He claims to discover in it great wrong and inequality
Indeed he pursucs the wrongs of his party with so much
zeal that would suppose that he had lost all respect
for it, and all confidence in its and measures But
still he says no is Of and he is for maintaining its
ganization. Now we can understand why should
labor to degrade and dishonor his party when he intends
leave it. but cannot thom the motives of him who
seeks to establish the wrongs and the crimes of his
party whilst declaring his unaltcrabe determination to
adhere to it. To say the least of it, the hero of such
feat takes great pains to show that he is fond of
bad society. The truth is, the Chicago speech of
Mr.. Douglas is something Of mystery within
circle its true purpose has becn the problem that
none could fully solve 1t is not great effort, by any
means. 1t is without method to topics, and,
think without due consideration to the ends to be
compshed 1t does not abound with those high toned
and magnanimoMs sentiments towards his party friends
certain to begct good feeling all Sides and restore
confidence in its author but, the Other hand there
Is vein of spite and illtempcr throughout He has
maintained mysterious silence to tho President ard
his cabinet He has no words of Cancellation with them
to spare their feelings position any more than
those of the common enemy. The random fire of the
Russians at Sebastopo of which no fond
illustration may be fifty employed to show up his own
conduct He fires AWAY without seeming to know or
whom no kills, democrats OF republicans, his
mics or his friends, or himself.
In tho first place, he lifted the curtain when the play
half Ho made his issue with the President
the 9th of December and the which he assigned
for it at Chicago all of subsequent origin He be-
gins and ends just where it suits himself best He
and omts such parts of tho history of the struggle
calculated to give plausibty to his own posi-
ton. For instance he says "A
"When found effort being made during tho
cent session of Congress to force constitution upon tho
people of Kansas against their WILL and to force that
State into the Union with constitution which the PED
pie had rejected by l0,00U majority. felt bound
man of honor, representative of Illinois, bound by
every consideration Of duty, of fidelity and of patriot
ism to resist to the utmost OF my power, the consumma
ton of that fraud
How unclndd to pretend that this was the point In
the history OF the contest ut which he made his issue
Everybody Rows that Judge Douglas had gone to the ut
most extreme against the policy of admitting the Terri
tory before the people had voted in any way the ques
ton. He says he did and SO when the people had
rejected tho constitution by ten thousand majority He
did oil this the 9th of December 1857 and tho vote
to which he refers did not till the 18th Of January
1858 The people had not even voted on the slavery ar
cle when ho raised this extreme issue with the Prcs
dent The Judge declared his determination togo against
the admission Of the State matter how the people might
w no IOrgoLtcH tnat, Hhpinp
Springfield, the 18th Of June, that & Kansas is
about to speak for herself through her delegates in
vention" on the 9th of December he held that the
best Efforts of that voice could not rise above the dignity
of petition for redress of grievances that all that
had been done was .null and void from the beginning
Hc at tho time interposed the omission of the
venton to submit the whole OF the constitution to vote
of the people, against the admission of the State having
at Springfield notified the free State party that if they alb
scented themselves from the election for delegates to form
the constitution and Kansas in consequences, became
slave State the result must DO upon themselves ndica
ting thereby that he thought of other subsequent
vote He had boosted, all occasions of the perfect
freedom of the people, under the organic act to form and
regulate their domestic institutions in their way
and yet, when they had indicated that way through
proper and legal channels tho Judge maintained that the
State should not be admitted because the adopted way
was not satisfactory to Congress He claimed the right
to interpose between the people and their local repre-
sentatives, and to have the work done again We
say these things in spirit of unndness but simply to
show that if have been committed in this Kansas
business tho Judge is much at fault il not more than
those of whom he complains Speaking of the defeat of
what he is pleased to designate san arrogant demand
for the admission OF Kansas, he says:
1.-The credit of this great moral victory is to be div
dcd among large number of various and different poit
cal castles IChocrs rejoiccd when found in this
great contest the republican party coming up manfuliy
and sustaining the principle that the people of each Ter
ritory, when coming into the Union, had right TO de-
eide for themselves whether slavery should should not
exist within their limits
81 had seen the time when that principle was contro
vertcd had seen the time when all parties did not
recognise the right of tho people to have slavery free
domto tolerate prohibit slavery as they choose-but
this power was claimed by tho Congress of the United