The Portland daily press., 1863-12-25
Miss Dickinson and the Chicago Fair.

Miss Dickinson ana the chicago fair,
In a scurrilous notice of the admirable lee
ture by Miss Dickinson at the City Hall, The
Argus says:
MISS ANNA K. DICKINSON, who charged
and received 5000 for making two addresses
on the occasion of the great Western Fair at
Chicago for the benefit Of the Sanitary Com
mission, delivered her abolition TRADE at the
City Hall, last evening. In
connection with the fee received by this wo
man at Chicago, we are iain 10 believe that
she is probably the only one in the country
who would take money for rendering ser
vice to sick and wounded soldiers.
This copperhead SANDER of patriotic,
whole-souled, sacrificing young lady, which is
repeated in the Argus for the halfdozzenth
time, has been explained by the Chicago
Tribune, so that only the meanest creatures
that walk the earth-ttose ,cho are nittjag to
strike ,coman--continue to retail the foul
aspersion upon her phllanthropic spirit. The
facts are simply these, as given In substance
by the Chicago paper, and as confirmed by
Miss Dickinson herself while in this city.
The Committee of the Chicago Fair wrote
to Miss ID. to know what price she put upon
her lectures, and to engage her for the Fair.
She replied that she had but one price for her
lectures-one hundred doiiars-but that she
taken up during the season Of the Fair. The
Committee wrote again, insisting that she
should fix price for lecturing before the
Fair. She again replied that the thing was
out of the question, as, in order to 60 to Chi
cago as desired, she would be obliged to can
Gel appointments for ten different places. The
Committee not satisfied, voted to appropriate
one housdad dollars to secure her services,
then wrote her accordingly, and made an ur-
gent appeal for her to yield to their solicita-
ton.
Seeing the action of the Committee and the
urgency with which they pressed their suit,
she withdrew her appointments, for which
she would have received one hundred dollars
each, went to Chicago and gave two lectures.
The Committee generously offered her the
81 900, but she declined to receive over 5000,
thus, instead Of stalking money for rendering
service to sick and wounded soldiers as
charged by the Argus she cheerfuly sacrificed
the opportunity to earn 800, which sum, by
every fair-minded person, will be put down TO
her credit as contribution to the Sanitary
Commission. One fact more: the two lectures
of Miss Dickinson netted the Fair eleren hun.
dred and forty odd dollars, after the expen.
ses and her allowance were paid. During the
first six months of the war Miss d. contrlbu-
ted her personal services, as volunteer nurse
in the hospitals of Pennsylvania, for which
she received no salary or compensation. Such
are the ways In which this noble young wo-
man has "taken money for rendering service
to sick and wounded soldiers" When the
editor of the Argus, assisted by the entire
cabal for which that paper is the mouth-piece,
shall have done half as much for the benefit
of the Union cause; when they shall have in
dividually or collectively sacrificed the oppor-
tunity to put half as much money in their own
pockets, for the benefit Of the sick and woun-
ded soldiers, then they can assail her with
fraction more show of propriety. But so long
as they do nothing except to growl at all
attempts TO restore the Union, and to delame
all who are laboring for the sick and wounded
soldiers so long as they head simple notice
of course of lectures for the benefit of the
Sanitary Commission with the word "Adver-
tlsement," and charge for ii accordingly, they
have no right TO complain of lack of benevo-
lence In others.
We have no idea that the Argus will make
atonement for its attack upon talented and
philanthropic lady by giving the facts; it will
prefer the unenyiable reputation Of having,
cowardly and rufiianly-like, dealt a blow at a
,ooman, whose only shield is her virtue whose
only defense is her spotless purity and good
works. But the blow, though dealt by
cowardly hand and in an assassin spirit falls
harmless. Miss Dickinson will live in the men,
DRY, the affection and the christian prayers of
those who listened to her eloquent and pa
thetic pleadings on Wednesday evening last,
where the names OF those who basely assail
her shall tester 10 the dishonored grave Of
undergraduates.