The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-11-26
Subaciha.


ar FREEDOM. 1t was the bright particular star
gbieh advertised the town in the fall of Is54.-
M the frst number, printed about the middle Of
SeDtember, 1854, and bearing date the 9Ist of
o,tober there was an edition Of 2I,GOO copies,
.5s expense of which to us was over 5000. These
,sre circulated throughout every part of the
.,untry. not one dollar Of which was ever re-
nrped but its effects were plainly visible in the
all Of that year in stimulating emigration to
\ Kansas,
All winter Of ls54-55, and the spring of that
ear, we labored under the most diseouraging
,Bbarrassments, yet we believe the heavy emil
rstion Of that spring and summer was owing
,iray to the influence of our paper. And thus
. continued to operate for the town, indirectly
.iyancing its prosperity, until suspended in the
.prng Of SO, when it was crushed out" for a
tine, to be revived again in the fall Of that year.
Through the dctics operation Of numerous per-
,g7al friends and relatives scattered over the
country, who took agencies for tho paper, and
many others who sympathised with the princi-
pies enunciated. our list was suddenly swelled
to EIGHT THOUSAND. The effect of this
large list was visible in the unprecedented
emigration of the spring of 1857 nearly
e7ey emigrant Of whom was bound for Law
renee. Our friends at Kansas City. Leaven-
WORTH &c, were in the habit Of remarking, as
passengers left the steamboat and inquired the
direction to this city, that "It seems as if
eastern peopleare unconscious Of any other place
in Kansas than Lawrence" 1t was asalmost true,
and We are vain enough to believe that our cir
z cuation Of s,Oo9 copies throughout the States,
and passed from hand to hand, each having at
least six readers, and the long extracts from its
columns mall the leading papers of the country.
did much towards bringing Lawrence into still
wider notOriety. Persons thus Influenced came
here, but in due time passed of to other portions
Of the Territory, but acquaintances made in
Lawrence endeared them to the place, and the
town has remained the center Of business for
tie Territory in consequence.
When our circulation and influence was cut
down by the villainous falsehOods of interested
letter writer's and their copyists in the States.
Lawrence felt the blow and she is still suffering
and will suffer. The loss was not ours alone,
butt was blow upon every property holder and
business man in the town. Years Of assiduous
labor cannot make up what was lost by that sui
cidal act, the laboring to crush out for II second
time. the HERALD OF FREEDOM. We appeal Ia
every mans good sense, and inquire which would
accomplish most for town, two papers With a
circulation. less in the aggregate than three
thousand five hundred, and these frequently in
the hands Of the same individuals, or single
paper with a circulation Of 5000. 1t is true il
may be urged that we could not have suctained
our large list. We believe we could. and We
believe, further, that were we to make the
fTprf au1 80.
zens generally Join us in the movement we could
raise its circulation to that number again. W.
have little desire to do so, and certainly woulC
not thiuk Of making the effort, did we desire
without our own citizens would Join with us il
. the enterprise.
Objections have been taken to our politica
course, and this isurged as areason for the with
holding patronage from the paper. look bael
upon the past and who is there who does not sus
tain the various lines of policy which we hav,
urged with so much zeal?
We were first denounced for sustaining tn,
administration Of Gov. GEARY. When he lef
the Territory every Free State man among u
regretted his leaving. and now say he was tn,
\ best Governor we ever had. Letters from val
! uablo Republican friends in Pennsyyania, VIII
long and WE'LL" and who assured us that hi
heart was in the right place. - I,rar.Ital ns l.
sustain him We feel proud that we did so.
When Secretary STANTON came here we ex
tended to him the hand of friendship, and tn
HERALD of FREEDOM, instead of abusing him
did what it could to set him right in regard t
our history. Mr.. STANTON is now laboring in tn
Republican ranks, and we trust that our infu
ence will never drive him elsewhere.
Gov. WALKER came to Kansas. a long con
fdcntial conversation with him on the secon
Orthird day after his arrival, and renewed fre
Quently, gave us high opinion Of his honorabl
Intentions towards the people of Kansas. w
sustained him as far as we thought him RIGHT
and endeavored to CORRECT, not .i6Use him who
nroRg. Look back upon the history of that peri
cd when every Republican paper in tho natio
was pouring gall upon us, and who is there no
who does not approve of our course with Go,
WALKER?
We advocated the getting possession of IL
Territorial government by competing with Ii
Fr0-slavery men for the Offices. When we pr,
posed this on the 4th of July. 1851. we WEI
threatened with annihilation, but the polio
prevailed, and the Territorial governments no
welded almost wholly by Republicans as col
sequence Of that line Of policy.
The Pro-slavery party had laid trap for o,
perpetual ensavement, in the guse of the L.
compton Constitution. They surrounded it wi
such features that they thought Free State me
would keep wholly aloof from it. With strol
backing from the federal administration al
their friends at the south. they saw that if tn
could only get possession of the offices und
it,their struggle foryears would be accomplishe
and Kansas would be slave State in earues
We saw and felt this, and as early as July of ;;
advised the election of all the offices under tn
Constitution, in case an opportunity was deni
4 us to vote it down. In opposition to hundreds
personal friends, and in direct conflict with d
action Of tho Free State Convention of the .
and sd Of December of that year, we adyoeat
the measure. 1t triumphed and to-day Kans
lsfree, whereas by differentline of policy Kans
would have been slave State long since and t
institution would have received such streng
from the movement that the seourge would ha
been fastened upon all the Territory west of
as well as upon Nebraska.
One Of the first to become identified with {
Free State organization, we were unwilling
surrender itfor any other party until Kansas W
could to perpetuate that party, and only sure
dered WHOM completely borne down by ovt
W1elaliug numbers. Though violently oppos
fortrying to keep up that organization, yet
feel proud that we were not the one to sell o
nor desert the party while corporal's guard I
mainsd to defend its blood d-stained banner"
Throughout our entireconnection with Kan:
affairs we have sought only for peace. Inste
Of laboring to embroil Kansas with Missouri,
opposed It from the first, and advised the pra
tice of the Christian virtues towards them
When they invaded the Territory, wrested fr,
US our franchises, and afterwards sought the a
nihilasion of every Free State settler, we oppos
them, and resolved to resistthem to the deatl
need be. We always talked about acting on
DEFENsIvE-never on the dggresstre. As SC
as they withdrew their armies, and invaders,
were ready to resume amicable relations W
them. and we had no notion of holding all NJ
souri, responsible for the murders and Villa
Of some of the basest of her population who
tempted to harass our people on the south-es
ern border; neither we're We in favor of gett