White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1860-07-05
WHITE CLOUD, KANSAS, THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1860


are against them Is those who are 70
them.
I am aware that small psrtisans, il
their little warfars against opposing lea
ders. do sometimes ssssil them by tn
trick of tearing from fheir contexts som,
particular objectionable phrases, penned
perhaps, IN the hurry Of composition, o.
spoken in the heat of oral debate, and
holding them upto the public ss the lead
ing doctrines OF the person assailed. and
drawing from them their own uncharita.
BILE inferences. That line of attack be.
trays little mind, conscious of its weak.
ness, for the falsity of its logic is mol
more apparent than the injustice of it,
design. No public man can stand that
ordeal, and, however willing men may be
to see it applied to their adversaries. all
finch from the torture when applied to
themselves. In fact, the man who never
said a foolish thing. will hardly be able
to prove that he ever said many wise
ones.
I consider Mr.. Lincoln a sound, safe,
national man. He could not be section
al, if he tried. His birth, his education,
the habits of his life, and his geographi-
cal position. compel him to be national.
All his feelings and interests are identified
with the great valley of the Mississippi,
near whose centre he has spent his whole
life. That valley is not a section, but,
conspicuously, the body of the nation,
aud, large as it is, is not capable of be-
ing divided into sections, for the great
river cannot be divided. 1t is one and
indivisible, and the North and the South
are alike necessary to its comfort and
prosperity. Its people, too, in all their
interests and affections, are as broad and
general as the regions they inhabit.-
They are emigrants. a mixed multitude,
coming from every State in the Union,
and from most countries in Europe they
are unwilling, therefore, to submit to any
one petty local standard. They love the
nation as a whole, and they love all its
parts, for they are bound to them all, not
only by feeling of common interest and
mutual dependence. but also by the re-
collections of childhood and youth, by
blood and friendship, and by all those
social and domestic charities which sweet
en- life, and make this world worth living
in. The valley is beginning to feel its
power, and will soon be strong enough to
dictate the law of the land. Whenever that
state of things shall come to pass, it will
be most fortunate for the nation to find
the powers of Government lodged in the
hands of men whose habits of thought,
whose position aud surrounding circum-
stances constrain them to use those poT-
ers for general and not sectional ends.
1 give my opinion freely in favor of
Mr.. Lincoln, and hope that, for the
good of the whole country, he may be
elected. But it is not my intention to
take any active part in the canvass. For
many years past l have had little to do
with public affairs, and have aspired to
no political office; and now, in view of
the mad excitement which eonvulses the
country. and the general disruption and
disorder of parties and elements which
compass them, / am more than ever as
sured that for me, personally, there is no
political future, and ] accept the condi-
ton with cheerful satisfaction. Still /
cannot discharge myself from the lifelong
duty to watch the conduct of men in pow
er, and to resist. so far as q mere private
man may. the fearful progress of official
corruption, which for several years past
has sadly marred and defled the fair fab
ric of our Government.
If Mr.. Lincoln should be elected. COM
ing in as q new man at the head OF 9
young party never before in power, he
may render great service to his country,
which no Democrat could render. He
can march straight forward in the dis
charge of high duties. guided only by his
own good judgment and honest purpo-
ses, without any necessity to temporize
with established abuses, to wink at the
delinquencies of old party friends, or
to unlearn and discard the bad official
habits that have>grown up under the mis-
government of his Democratic predeces-
sors. In short, he can be an honest and
bold reformer on easier and cheaper
terms that any Democratic President can
be. for. in proceeding in the good work
OF cleansing and purifying the admins
trative departments, he will have no oc-
casion to expose the vices, assail the in
terests, or thwart ambition of his politi-
cal friends. -r.-r,
Begging your pardon for the length of
this letter, l remain. with great respect,
Your friend and obedient servant,
"-s 1c1 EDWARD BATES.