The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-03-24
81. LouIs. MARCH ID. 1sGt

ST. LOUIS March ~ 1860
TO Messrs. p. u. Foy, Editor Of the JGs-
Anzeiger, and other gentlemen
SRs: B. Gratz Brown, Esq, as President
of the Missouri Ssate Convention, which sat
in ST. Louis on the tenth of this month, has
officially made known to me the proceed
ings of that body, and by them am enabled
to know some of you as Delegates to the
Chicago Convention, representing the Re-
publican party of Missouri.
have received your letter propounding
to me certain questions, (seven in number)
which you suppose will cover most if not
ALL the grounds of controversy in the ap-
proaehing Presidential election. -i
With pleasure ! will answer your ques-
tions. But before doing so allow me to
glance at the peculiar circumstances in
which | am placed, and the strangeness of
the fact that |, a mere private man, am call
ed upon to make avowals and explanations,
with any view to take me from the shades
of private life and place me at the head of
the nation. | came to this frontier in my
youth, and settled in ST. Louis when it was
a village. All my manhood has been spent
in Missouri, and during all this timeai have
followed a profession which left my charac-
ter and conduct open to the observation of
society. And while it has been my con-
slant habit freely to express my opinion of
| public measures and public men, the people
of Missouri, of all parties, will bear me wit
! ness that have never, obstrusively, thrust
! myself forward in pursuit of official honors.
! have held no political office, and sought
none, for more than twenty FIVE years. - =
Under these circumstances, | confess the
! qualification which feel in receiving the
recent manifestations of the respect aud con-
! fdence of my fellow citizens. First, the
| Opposition members of the Missouri Legis-
| lature declared their preference for me as
| candidate then followed my nomination
| by a convention composed OF all the ee-
ments of the opposition, in this State; and
now, the Republicans of Missouri in their
! separate Convention, just held in St. Louis,
/ have re-affirmed The nomination, and pro-
! posed, by their delegates, to present me to
| the National Convention, soon to be held at
! Chicago, as a candidate for the first office in
! the nation. These various demonstrations,
| in my own State, are doubly gratifying to
ME, because they afford the strongest proof
that my name has been put forward only in
a spirit of harmony and peace. and with the
| hope of preventing all division and contro-
: versy among those, who, for their own safety
and the public good, ought to be united in
their action. .F~gT ~ r-ztH
For all this ] am deeply grateful, and, as
far as concerns me persOnally,-1 must de-
clare, in simple truth, that if the movement
go no further and produce no national re-
suits, still am, paid, and oyerpaid, for
life of labor, and for whatever of Jealous
effort and patient watching | have been
able to bestow in support of line of gov
erumentaI policy which believe TO he for
the present and permanent good of the
country.
And now, gentlemen, i proceed to answer
your questions, briefly, indeed, but fully,
plainly, and with all possible frankness
And do this the more willingly because
have received from individuals many let
tiers, too many to be. separately answered J
and have seen in many public journals ar
ticies making urgent calls upon me for such
a statement of my views. ,-s..