The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-10-29
The Issue i'm Iown, and What
Came of IL.

Came of II.
We think that our readers and cotempo
raries will bear us out in the assertion which
we make, that, from the day on which Gen
eral Tuttle was placed before the public by
the Democratic State Central Committee,
not one embarrassing word was uttered by
this paper. And for the purpose of having
our position clearly understood, we wish i,
remembered that not until he soas candi
date were we responsible for a line that ap
peared in the Herald respecting him. We
proposed, as we said, to let him find wha,
entertainment he might, and to reserve fol
an hour when no possible disadvantage
could result therefrom, our opinions of his
nomination, and of the men manly instru.
mental in placing him there.
We went to the State Convention and op.
posed the nomination of General Tuttls
fairly and persstently. We were not cred.
ulous enough to believe that we could carry
the State, but we did believe it possible tc
earn the respect of our opponents and pre-
serve our own oy taking bold and manly
position. We could have adopted an une.
quivocal platform of principles; we could
have placed upon it candidates of acknowl
edged ability and worth and consistency,
and We could have fought enthusiastically
although certain defeat awaited US as an or.
ganization. But the schemers Of the party
declared otherwise. Ed. Johnstone, who
forced upon the Democratic party, for its
destruction, yames ID. Eads and Curtis
Bates-the former very bad, and the latter
q very weak man. Johnstone who helped
saddle upon us constitution especially
framed for the purposes OF Jas. W. Grimes,
and who became the barrier to our assaults
upon Republican extravagance by being
connected with every enterprise that party
devised-demanded Tuttle, and refused to
be contented, either for himself or Lee coun.
ty with any other.
Judge Trimble, who had been in the war,
and wished an endorsement through the
nomination of Tuttle, demanded him, and
could not be prevailed upon to take up an
other. d. o. Finch, who at the commence
ment of the war, was about as bitter an
enemy as we had, simply because we stood
firm from the commencement against the
suicidal policy of war, also demanded Tut
tie, and refused Fisher or Mason. Hornisf.
who two years before had voted for an abo-
ltionist for Congress because Democrat
was not loyal enough, clamored for Tuttle.
The southern portion Of the State, with but
few exceptions, asked for Tuttle, through
its delegates, while the people, assembled
by thousands, demanded representative
man. The committee on resolutions, of
which We were one, brought in a platform
on scaich no General in the army could uith
the least consistency stand. 1t ,oGs as une-
qaioocatly opposed to the scar, as conducted,
as platform could possibly be framed to
be, and 1t especially denounced as official per-
juriss, acts of the Administration ghich
eoery General an the field was bound to
srs tain and carry out.
The resolutions--not up to our standard
in ali things, and yet accepted by us and
those who thought as we did, for the sake
of harmony-were unanimously adopted
whereupon the friends of Tuttle, regardless
of the anomaly attempted to place him upon
them. We all fought over the attempt for
five hours. Weexposed the inconsistency
Of a Brigadier- General upon declared anti.
war platform, We examined his record,
ard appealed TO the convention, and the
result was that he was beaten for the nom.
ina,ion by thirty four majority. 1t is USE
less to say that at any one time he was
for it IS notorious that there was
much irregularity in voting, and il his friends
had been in a majority once, they could
easily have shown it on second trial. We
nominated good ticket, appointed an eff
cient committee, and came home to labor
for the principles Of our party.
But the uneasy politicians, defeated fairly
10 convention, set to work to demoralize the
party by procuring the with hdrawal of its
nominees. By Misrepresentation, by per-
sonal appeals, by promise of great majori-
ties for Tuttle, Mr.. Fisher was led to decline,
and then came the demand for second
The committee was known to
be against Tuttle as originally made up,
and every Tuttle paper in the State declared
it had not the least power to fill the vacancy.
1t was advised in oracuar phraseology, not
to attempt to dictate to the party by nsu,-
ination, but when it DID nominate, and
General Tut,e, not word oil
dissent was heard from those who had ar
gued us into thorough advocacy of their
doctrines. Still, the Herald, and the few
straightforward papers OF the State said
nothing. but hoisted the ticket under some
pretence or other, and went to work upon
Abolitionism. We did not give our support
to Tuttle, for we knew that his friends did
not want that, but we exposed the cowardice
of Stone, and his meanness. the baseuess
Of the Abolition party, and allowed our
party friends, North and South, to make all
the capital they could by saying that the
Herald did not support Tuttie because he
was not an extremist. But here in Dubu.
que, we managed our affairs in our own
way nominated radical men Of known
character, and went to work vigorously.