Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-06-21
Grseley's Letter to Seward.

fitting time to announce to you the dissolution
of the political firm Of Seward, Weed and Gree
ley, by the withdrawal OF the junior partner
said withdrawal to take effect on the morn
ing after the first Tuesday in February next
Aud as it may seem great presumption In me
to assume that any such firm exists, especially
since the pubic was advised, rather more than
year ago. by an Editorial rcscrlpt IN the roe
ming Journal formally reading me out OF the
Wing party, that was esteemed no longer use
full or ornamental in the concern, you VIII, am
sure indulge me in some "reminiscences which
seem to beht the OCCASION
was a poor young printer and Editor OF
Literary Journal very active and bitter wing
in small way, but not seeking to be known
out of my own Ward Committce-when, after
the great Political Revision Of 1887, was one
day called to the City Hotel, where two stran-
gers introduced themselves as Thurlow Weed
and Lewis Benedict of Albany. They told me
that cheap Campaign Paper of peculiar
stamp at Albany had been resolved on, and that
had been selected to edit it. The announce
ment might well be deemed Aattering by one
who had never sought the notice of the great,
and who was not known as partisan writer,
and eagerly embraced their proposals. They
asked me to fix my salary for the year, ! named
81 600, which was agreed to- and / did the
work required to the best of my ability 1t
was work that made no figure and created no
sensation but loved it and | did it we'll
When it was done you We're Governor, dis
pensing offices worth SO 600 to $50 600 per
year to your.friends and competrIots, and re-
turned to my garnet and my crust, and my DIES.
perate battle with pecuniary obligations heaped
upon me by bad partners in business and the
disastrous events Of 1887. | believe it did not
then occur to me that some one OF these album
dant places might have been offered to me with
out injustice; now think 1t should have oc-
Cured to you. If it did occur to me, was not
the man to ask you for it ; think that should
not have been necessary. only remember that
no friend at Albany inquire as to my pccunia-
ry circumstances that your friend (but not
mlne) Robert e. Wetmore, was one OF the chief
dispensers Of patronage here and that such
devoted compatriots as A. Ii. Wells and John
Hooks were lifted by you out Of pauperism in
to independence, as | am glad | was not and
yet an inquiry from you as to my needs and
means at that time would have been timely, and
held ever in grateful remembrance.
In the Harrison campaign of 1910, | was
again designated to edit campaign paper.
published it as well, and ought to have made
something by it, in spite of its extremely low
price my extreme poverty was the main rea-
son why did not. 1t compelled me to hire
press-work, mailing, &c. done by the job and
high charges for extra work nearly ate me up.
At the close | wis still without property and
in debt, but this paper had rather improved my
position,
Now came the great scramble of the swell
mob of coon MINISTRIES and cidersuckers at
Washington-l not being counted in. Several
regiments OF them went on from this city but
no one of the whole crowd-though say it who
should not-had done SO much toward Gen.
Harrison S nomination and election as yours re.
specially. asked nothing, expected nothing;
but you, Gov Seward, should have asked that
. be postmaster of New York. Your asking
: would have been in vain; but it would have
been an act Of grace neither wasted nor undo
served
soon after started The Tribune, because I
was urged to do so by certain Of your friends,
and because such a paper was needed here.
was promised certain pecuniary aid nso doing;
Itmight have been given up without cost or risk
to any one. All ever had was a loan by piece
; meal of 81 600 from James Coggeshall, God
bless his honored memory | did not ask for
this, and think it Is the one sole case in which
ever received pecuniary favor from politi-
cal associate. am very thankful that he did
not die till it was fully repaid.
And let me here honor one grateful recollec
= ton. When the Wing party under your rule
] had Offices to give, my name was never thought
of but when in AZ 3, we were hopelessly out
of power. was honored with the party nomi-
nation for State Printer. When we came again
J to have State Printer to elect as well as Eomi-
nate, the place went to Weed, as it ought
Yet it is worth something to know that there
was once a time when it was not deemed too
great a sacrifice to recognize me a belonging TO
your household. If new Office had not since
been createdon purpose 10 give its valuable pat
ronage to II. j. Raymond and enable st. John
to show forth his Times as the organ of the
Wing State Administration, | should have been
still more grateful.
In l848 your star again rose, and my warm
est hopes were realized in your election to the
Senate. | was no longer needy and had no
more claim than desire to be recognized by Gen.
Taylor. think had some claim to forbear
} ance from you, What | received thereupon
was humiliating lecture in the shape of a de-
cison in the libel case Of Redfeld and Prngle
and an obligation to publish it in my own and
the other journal of our supposed firm. |
thought and still think this lecture needlessy
cruel and mortlfying. The plaintiffs, after us
ling my columns to the extent of their needs or
desires, stopped writing and called on me FOR
the name Of their assailant. profered it to
them--a thoroughly responsible name. They
refused to accept it unless it should prove to be
one of the four or five first men in Batavia -
when they had known from the first who it was,
and that it was neither of them. They would
not ACCENT TINT which they bad domandad they