Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-07-17


!SiHor Of The Decatur Chyonicle:
Dear Sir-The following item appeared in
the Columbus Statesman a few days ago.
which | take from the Coles County Ledg-
"HANKs AGAINST LINCOLN.
owe were informed day ortwo ago by a del
egate to the Baltimore convention, who called
at our office, that John Hanks, the man who
assisted Abe Lincoln to make those rails about
which the republicans are making such a ter
rble hubbub, has announced himself opposed
to the election of Lincoln. Hanks, who has
ever been democrat is against the republic
can nominee because he knows Lincoln to be
humbug, and nothing else. Hurrah for
Hanks"
To this article l desire briefly to reply. If
my choice for president, or how | shall vote
as between the candidates for that office, is
worth considering at all, | claim it as simple
right to be correctly represented. | am but
farmer, and regret to say not an educated
one. have never been candidate for any
office, nor do expect ever to be- while l can
with all truthfunesS say this, yet | have never
been a negative man in politics. From my
bOyhood have been a constant voter with the
democratic party in all essential elections |
have thought that party to be upright and
straightforward in all the principles it has re-
ally adopted So late as 1858 | voted for Mr.,
Douglas and against my old friend Lincoln.
For forty years | have looked upon the party
with pride and hailed its success with pleas
ure; but Mr.. Douglas made a speech in De
catur in 1858, and in my hearing spoke so
pleasantly and honorably Of the Old wing par.
ty, and Of Mr.. Clay, its leader, after having tor
fifteen years, in discussing general politics,
when used to love 10 listen to him SO well,
spoke SO complaningly and so abusively Of that
party and Of MIR. Clay, charging upon it and
him many bad and mean things, until listen
ing at him | learned to look upon both as dam
gerous and full of evil The thought struck
me that for the future | would never Judge of
party or its leaders by what an opponent
might say, and this conclusion | mean to fol-
low the balance of my life. How foolish it is
to abuse party because my friends do so, and
then praise the same party because that friend
may do so; he may be designing-I would in
all probability be dupe.
Ever since Mr.. Douglas made that speech
in 1855 he has been abusing the republicans
just like he used to abuse the old wings. |
am tired Of this kind of warfare; | think its
not right to do so, and as Mr.. Douglas further
said in that speech that he was in the habit
of sometimes changing his politics, did not
know that it was about time for him to
begin to excuse and cease to abuse the repub-
hcans, and made up his mind to let him go in
time. Now, to entirely changing my poll
tics, l cannot say have done this-but for the
life of me | can see nothing in the republican
party that any honest democrat can seriously
oppose. 1t is true, were they such party as
'sSr Dogulas used to say they were, | could see
Objectionable features about it; but then it is
wise to believe everything Mr.. Douglas has
sad, when he tells us he sometimes changes,
and when we have near us honest men known
to be purely honest for more than thirty years,
who deny all this and propose to tell us the
true state of the case and to give us the true
~
this, when we have for years been opposed, in
politics, to man who has again and again
seen his party defeated, and has himself some
times failed, and still that man true to
his coors, re.arming and reenterng the field
to try to uphold and successfully plant his
cOlors upon the side of victory, when all the
time we knew he had but to change once to
win, and yet has never changed, think |
may say never faltered, how are to respect
him Such man l have known Mr.. Lin
coin for thirty years to be- In boyhood days
we tolled together; many are the days we
have logged the heavy oar on the Ohio, the
Illinois and the Mississippi rivers together,
many of the long cold days we have iourneyed
over the wild prairies and through the forest
with gun and axe, and though it is not
pleasant to refer back to it, well do | remem-
Der when we set out together in the co Id win
ter to cut and maui rails on the Sangamon
river, i'll Macon county thirty years ago, to
enclose his fathers little home, and from day
to day kept at work until the whole was finish
ed and the homestead fenced in we often
snapped work in this way and yet during the
many years were connected together labor
ers, sometimes ffat-boatng, sometimes hog
driving, sometimes railmaking, and, too,
when it was nearly impossible to get books,
he was constant reader ! was Il listener
he settled all disputes Of all the young men in
the neghborhood, and his decisions were
always abided by. | never knew man so
honest under all circumstances for his Whole
life.
Thus associated with Mr.. Lincoln, learned
to love him, and when, in 1888, he was Il can
ddate for the first time within my reach
against my feelings, and may say, against
my convictions, my old party ties induced me
to vote for Mr.. Douglas; my democratic
friends all declared Lincoln was an abolition
list; l heard him make speech in Decatur
just before the election, and | could see moth
ing bad in it; but | was told by the party he
was wrong | could not see how he could be-
but they said so, and | was a democrat and
went 1t. My wife used to say to me that some
day Abe would come out and be something /;
| thought so, too, but | could not exactly see
how a man in the lower walks of life, a day
laborer, and hopelessly poor, would ever stand
much chance to get up very high in the world;
at last, one day at home, we heard that the re-
publican state convention was to be held at De-
catur, and that they were going for Abe for
president. AS soon as found this out | went
into town and told friend Of Abes that as
great and honest merit was at last be awarded
! IN the person Of my friend, Mr.. Lincoln, by
the republican party, | thought of the hard
and trying struggles of his early days, and,
recollecting the rails we had made together
thirty years ago, made up my mind TO pre-
sent some OF them to that convention as a ties
timonal of the beginning OF one Of the great.
est living mens lot the age, believing they would
speak more in his praise than any orator
could, and honor true labor more than the
praise Of men or the resolutions of conYen-
tons. On our way to get the rails l told this
friend Of our Abe that if Abe should be nom-
mated for president would vote tor him; eve
rybody knows what he has been, and | rejoice
That live to give this testimony to his good
ness ana honesty, and hope | shall live to vote
Tor nln Tor president Of the United States next
November; Is there anything wrong in this
VINO ought to refuse to vote for as rood
and as great man as he isq
KNOW that IN voting for him | vote with
the republican party, and will be considered as
adopting It's principles as | now understand
them see no reason why NAV not do So
our own party is divided and we have No
Solomon to tell who shall take the rbild
Slavery has divided the democratic partv
nobody can blame repubcanism for the de-
struclion that came upon lis at Charleston
slavery has disunited us--it has united tbo
republican party; if there is any good about
the question, they have it all, and we have
the trouble. II | understand Mr.. Douglas
now, he occupies position on this question
just MS distasteiul to the south MS Mr. Lincoln