Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1863-09-11
AN InPonTANT I.EETnn.
Mr.. LINCOLN TO THE sPRrSeFIELD MEETING.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
w .nrrr.-Dla.nr Ann 0R 1851 {

MY DEAR SIR:- our letter lnvthng me 10
attend a mass meeting Of unconditional Union
men 10 be held at the Capital Of Illinois, on
the Sd day OF September has been received
IL would be very agreeable to me TO thus
meet nv old friends at my own home but
cannot iust now, be absent from this city so
long as visit there would require. The meet
ing is to be Of all those who maintain uncondi-
lional devotion TO the Union, and l am sure
that my old political friends will thank me for
rendering as do, the nations gratitude to those
other noble men whom no partisan malice nor
partisan hope can make false to the nations
life. llie sfe -taf ap. aita
There are those who are dissatisfied with me.
To such would say You desire peace, and
you blame me that you do not have it, but how
can we attain itP There are but three conceiv-
able ways-hrst, TO suppress the rebellion by
force Of arms. This l am trying TO do. Are
you for it2 II you are, SO far we are agreed
If you are not for it, second way is to give up
the Union. ] am against this. If you are, you
should say SO plainly. If you are not Tor force,
nor yet for dissolution, there only remains some
imaginable compromise. | do not believe that
any compromise, embracing the maintenance OF
The Union is now possible. All that | learn
leads to directly opposite belief.
The strength of the rebellion is its military
its army. That army dominates all the people
within It's range. Any offer of terms inade by
any man or men within that range, in opposi-
tion 10 that army, is simply nothing, for the
present because such man or men have no pow
er whatever TO enforce their side of comprom-
Use if one made with them.
TO illustrate suppose refugees from the
South and peace men of the North meet togeth-
or in convention, and frame and proclaim
compromise embracing restoration OF the
Union; in what way can that compromise be
used 10 keep Gen. Lees army out of Pennsyl-
vania? Gen. Meades army can keep Cen
tofD y lyat,ia and think
can ultimately drive it out of existence. But
no paper compromise to which the controllers
of Gen. Lees army are not agreed, can at all
effect that army. In an effort at such .compro-
mise we would waste time, which the enemy
would improve TO our disadvantage and that
would be ALL
A compromise, to be effective, must be made
either with those who control the rebel army,
or with the people, first liberated from the DOM
ination of that army by the success of ourarms.
Now allow me to assure that no word or intinia-
nation, from the rebel army, or from any of the
men controlling it, in relation to any peace COM
promise, has ever come to my knowledge or
belief. All charges and intimations to the con-
traFy are deceptive aud groundless and 1
promise you that if any such proposition shall
hereafter come, it shall not be rejected and kept
from you, freely acknowledging myself to be
the servant of the people, according to the bond
of the service, the United States Constitution,
and that as such / am responsible to them.
But to be plain, you are dissatisfied with me
about the negro. Quite likely there is a differ
ence of opinion between you and myself upon
that subject l certainly wish that all men
could be free, while you, | suppose. do not; yet
have neither adopted nor proposed any meas |
ure which is not consistent even with your
views, provided you are for the Union. | sug-
gested compensated emancipation, to which you |
replied that "you wished not to be taxed to buy |
negroes" But had not asked you to be taxed
TO buy negroes except in such a way as to save
you from greater taxation to save the Union ex-
clusively by other means.
You dislike the Emancipation Proclamation,
and perhaps would have it retracted. You say |
it is unconstitutional. l think differently. l
think the Constitution vests its commander-in- |
chief with the law of war in time of war. The
most that can be said if so much, is that slaves
are property. Is there, has there ever been, any
question that by the laws of war, property,
both of enemies or friends may be taken when
needed? And is it not needed when our taking
it helps u.s. or hurts our enemies? Armies, the
world over, destroy enemy's property when
they cannot use il, and even destroy their own
to keep it from the enemy. Civilized belliger-
euts do all in their power to help themselves oil
hurt the enemy, except few things regarded as
barbarous and cruel. Among the exceptions
are the massacre of vanquished foes and nom
combatants, male and female. But the Procla-
nation is law and vald--if it is not valid, it
needs retraction; if it is valid, it cannot be
retracted any more than the dead can be brought
TO life.
Some Of you profess to think that retraction
would operate favorably to the Union. Why
better after the retraction than before the issue?
There was more than year and half of trial
to suppress the rebellion before the Proclama-
tion was issued, the last 100 days of which
passed under an explicit notice that it was be-
coming useless, unless averted by those in re-
xyo1f fo fhair oil Tho war
has certainly progressed as favorably to us
since the issue of the Proclamation as before
/ know as fully as one can know the opinions OF
others, that some of the commanders of our ar
mics in the field who have given us our most
important victories believe the Emancipation
policy and the aid of colored troops constitute
the heaviest blows yet dealt to the rebellion and
that at least one of those important successes
could not have been achieved when it was, but
for the aid of black soldiers. Among the COM
manders holding these views are some who
have never had any affinity with what is called
Abolitionism or with the Republican party pol
itics, but who hold them as purely military
opinions. / submit this as being entitled to
some weight against the objections often urged
that Emancipation and arming the blacks are
unwise as military measures, and were not
as such.
You say that you will not fight to free ne
groes. Some of them seem to be willing
you then exclusively to save the Union. l is
sued the proclamation purpose to aid you in
saving the Union. Whenever you shall have
conquered all resistance to the Union, if l shall
urge you to continue fighting. it will be ample
time for you to declare that you viii not fight TO
free negroes. thought that in your struggle
for the Union, to whatever extent the negroes
should cease helping the enemy to that extent it
weakened the enemy in his resistance to you
Do you think differently2 l thought that
whatever negroes can be got to do as soldiers
leaves Just so much less for white soldiers 70 do
in saving the Union. Does it appear otherwise
to you? But negroes, like other people, act up
on motive. Why should they do anything for
us if we will do nothing for them? If they
stake their lives for us it must be prompted by
the strongest motive-eyen the promise of free
dom, and the promise being made it must be
kept
The signs look better. The Father Of Waters
goes unvexed to the sea-thanks to the Great
Northwest for it, nor yet wholly TO them
Three hundred miles up they met New Eng
land, the Empire, the Keystone and the jersey,
hewing their way right and left. The Sunny
South too in more colors than one, also
lenl hand on the spot. Their part of the his
tory was iotted down in black and white. The
job was great national one and let none be
banned who bore an honorable part in it. And
while those who have cleared the great river
may well be proud, even that is not all. 1t is
hard IN saw that ANYTHING has been more braye-