The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1860-07-12

Lancoln,s ora naal-maullnK Parsnel

/
from John Hanks incoln's early partnel
in the rail.splitting husiness--in the Decatu'
Chronicle. Hanks il an honest old jackson
| Democratic farmer, who shared with th,
OF pioneer life in Illinois, before the days oil
railroads and canals. His letter 10 plain
unvarnished statement, that will find q re-
spouse in the breasts of hundreds of ole
Democratic farmers of the pioneer times
Editor of the Decatur Chronicle:
! DEAR SIR: The following item appear cd
in the Columbus Statesman few days ago,
which take from the Coles County Ledger
'HAAKs AGAINST LINCOLN"
"We were informed day or two ago by a
delegate 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 terrible hubbub, has announced him
self opposed to the election Of Lincoln
Hanks, who has never been Demob il
against the Republican nominee because he
knows Lincoln to be humbug, and nothing
else. Hurrah for Hanksl,
! To this article desire briefly to reply. II
my choice for President, or how | shall vote
as between the candidates for that Office, is
worth considering at all, | claim it as q sim
| pie right to be correctly represented. l am
but farmer, and regret to say not an ed u :
Gated one. | have never been O candidate
for any office, nor do ] expect ever to be
whilst | can with oil truthfrlness saw this.
yet have never been negative man in mol
itics. From my boyhood have beena DON
slant voter with the Democratic party in oil
essential elections; | have thoughtthat party
TO be upright and straightforward in all the
principles il has really adopted. So late az
1858 voted for MIR. Douglas and against
my old friend Lincoln. For forty years
have looked upon the party with pride and
hailed its success with pleasure; but as Mr.
Douglas made speech In Decatur in 1853
and In my hearing spoke so pleasantly and
80 honorably of the old Wing party and oil
Mr.. Clay, its leader, after having for ffteer
years, in discussing general politics, when
used TO love to listen 10 him so well, spok,
so complainingly and so abusively of tha
party and Of MIR. Clay, charging upon il and
him many bad and mean things, until listen
ing at him | learned to look upon both al
dangerous and full of evil. The though
struck me that for the future | would nev @,
judge of party or its leaders by what ar
opponent might say, and this conclusion
mean to follow the balance of my life. How
foolish il is to abuse a party because IN,
friend may do go, and then praise the same
party because that friend may change and dc
SO; be may be designiug--I would, in al
probability be dupe. Ever since Mr.. Doug.
las made that speech in 1858, be has beer
abusing the Rer ublicans just like he used to
abuse the old Wings. am tired of this kline
of warfare; think it 10 not right to do So
and as Mr.. Douglas further said in tina
speech that he was in the habit Of sometim g,
changing his politics, did not know Blu
that il was about time for him to begin t,
excuse and cease to abuse the Republicans
and made up my mind TO let him 20 10 time
Now, as to entirely changing my politics,
eahhet say have done this, but for the tiff
of me ] can see nothing in the Republican
party that any honest Democrat can serious
ly oppose. Ii 10 true, we're they such a part
as MIR. Douglas used TO say they we've,
could see Objectionable features about it; bu
then 10 it wise TO believe everything Mr.
Douglas has said, when he tells us he some
} times changes, and when we have near u
, honest men, known to be purely honest TO
more than thirty years, who deny all this AM
propose TO tell us the true state of the case
-
party? | think not. Besides this, when W
have for years been opposed, in politics, t,
d man who has again and again seen BIZ
party defeated, and has himself sometime
failed, and still seen that man true to biz
eolors, re arming and re. entering the field II
try to uphold and successfully plant his col
ors upon the side of victory, when all the
time we knew he had but to change once tC
/ win, and yet has never changed, think
may say never faltered, how are we to re-
spect himp Such man | have known Mr.
Lincoln for thirty years to be. 10 b0yhool
days we toiled together; many are the day
We have logged the heavy oar on the Ohio
the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers togeth
. err; many are the long cold days We hav
journeyed over the wild praires and throug
the forest with gun and az, and though il i
not pleasant 10 refer back to 1t. we'll do re
D member when we set out together in the col
g winter TO cut and maui rails on the Sanga
e mon river, in Macon county, thirty years age
e to enclose his fathers little home, and fror
: dav to day kept at work until the whole wa
r finished and the homestead fenced in; "
D often snapped work in this way, and va
: during the many years we were conneote
0 together as3aborers, sometimes hat-boatinp
sometimes hog driving, sometimes rail ma
0 king, and, too, when it was nearly impossi
4 Bile to get books, be was constant reader
r ! was q listener; he settled all disputes o
e all the young men in the neightorhood
Q and his decisions were always ahided by
| never knew n man SO honest under oil OR
eumstanoes, for his whole life. Thus ass
4 cated with MIR. Lincoln, | learned to Low
o him, and when in 1858 he was candidat
: for the frS time within my reach, agains
u my feelings, and may say against my con
0 victlons, my old party ties induced mo h
. vote for Douglas my Democratic friends al
. declared Lincoln was an abolitlopist; hear
0 him make speech in Decatur just befor
I the election and could see nothing bad il
. IL; bat was told by the party he wac wrong
+? | could not see how he could, but they sal
0 so, and was Democrat and went it, Nj