Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-05-05
Another Letter from the President.

! Another Letter from the President.
| Mr.. LINCOLN has demonstrated the unsound-
| ness of what had become an axiom in our
politics, to-wit, that public man must not
allow his letters to be published.
He has shown there is no damage in such
publications where the writer has clear
| honest, straightforward purpose to which he
consistently adheres. They are only danger
Gus to politicians who are seeking the sup
port of antagonistic interests, and playing a
double game.
During his term of office, Mr.. LINCOLN has
written number of letters that have been
published, and, in every instance, they have
strengthened the confidence of the people
both IN his integrity as patriot, and his wise
forethought and clear insight as a statesman.
Another of his letters has just appeared,
and is worthy companion piece with those
that have preceded it. 1t is published in the
Frankfort (Ky.) Commonwealth, and relates to
his action on the subject of slavery, his coun-
demanding the orders of Generals Fremont
and HUNTER emancipating slaves, and his sub
| sequent proclamation of emancipation, and
order for the organization of colored regi-
ments. The circumstances elciting the let
ter were as follows: Gov. BRAMLETTE and a
number Of Kentucky gentlemen visited the
President recently, in regard to military mat
| tiers in Kentucky. At the close of the inter-
| view the President said that he was appre-
hensive that kentuckians felt uIfriendly to
him in consequence of not understanding the
difficulties with which he was surrounded,
and that he would explain his course if they
felt inclined to hear him. They signifed their
desire that he should do so, and the President
| proceeded to state the reasons for his policy
on the subject of slavery. Afterwards, at
the request of Col. HODGES, of the Common
ocealh, who was one of the party, Mr.. LINCOLN
| wrote out tie substance of what he said in
the form Of a letter as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, April 4, 1861
| Il. @. Hodges, Esq.,, Frankfort, Ky.
My DEAR SIR:-You ask me to put in writ
| ing hessubstance of what | verbally said the
other day in your presence, to Governor
| Bramlette and Senator Dixon. 1t was about
as follows:
l am naturally anti-slavery If slavery is
not wrong, nothing is wrong l cannot re-
member when | did not so think and feel
And yet, L have never understood that the
Presidency conferred upon me an unrestrict-
| ed right to act officially upon this Judgment
and feeling 1t was in the oath took, that
| would to the best of my ability, preserve
protect and defend the Constitution of the
| United States. | could not take the office
without taking the oath. Nor was it my view
that might take an oath to get power, and
break the oath in using the power. | under
| stand, too, that in ordinary civil administra-
ton this oath even forbade me to practically
indulge in primary, abstract judgment on the
moral question of slavery. | had publicly
declared this many times, and in many ways
And [ aver that, to this day, 1 have done no
official act in mere Difference to my abstract
judgment and feeling on slavery.
| did understand, however, that my oath to
| preserve the Constitution to the best of my
| ability, imposed upon me the duty of preserv-
ing, by every Indispensable MEANS that Gov
| ernment-that nation, Of which that Consti-
| tuition was the organic law. Was it possible
w ioHO WV 1dVIO4i3 etl4u Vic COlI-
| stitution?
| By general law, life and limb must be pro-
tected; yet often limb must be amputated
to save life, but a life is never wisely given
to save a limb. felt that measure, other
| wise unconstitutional, might become lawful,
by becoming indispensable to the prescrva-
ton of the Constitution, through the preser-
walton of the nation. Right or wrong, as
sumed this ground, and now I avow it, l
could not feel, that to the best of my ability
[ had even tried to preserve the Constitution,
if, to save slavery, or any minor matter,
should permit the wreck of Government,
country and Constitution, altogether
When, early in the war, Gen. Fremont at
tempted military emancipation, [ forbade it,
| because | did not then think it an indspen-
sable necessity. When, little later, Gen.
Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested
the arming of the blacks, [ objected; because
[ did not yet think it an indispensable neces-
sity When, still later Gen. Hunter attempt
ed military emancipation, | again forbade it
because I did not yet think the indispensable
necessity had come.
When, in March, and May, and July, 1862
| made earnest and successive appeals to the
border States to favor compensated enamel
patton, believed the indispensable necessity
for military emancipation and arming the
blacks would come, unless averted by that
measure They declined the proposition
and l was, in my best judgement driven to
| the alternative, of either surrendering the
Union, and with it, the Constitution, or OF
laying strong hands upon the colored element.
| chose the latter. In choosing it, l hoped
for greater gain than loss; but of this | was
not entirely confident. More than a year
of trial now shows no loss by it, in our for
eign relations; none iii our home popular SEN
timent, none in our white military force-no
loss by it, any how, or any where. On the
contrary, it shows a gain of quite $50, 900
soldiers, seamen and laborers. These are
palpable facts, about which, as facts, there
can be no cayiling. We have the men, and
we could not have had them without the
measure.
And now, let any Union man, who COM
plains of the measure, test himself by writing
down in one line, that he is for subduing the
| rebellion by force of arms and in the next,
that he is for taking these 10000 men from
the Union side, and placing them where they
would be but for the measure he condemns.
If he can not face his cause so stated, it is
only because he can not face the truth
| add word, which was not in the verbal
conversation. In telling this tale, l attempt
no compliment to my own sagacity. | claim
not to have controlled events, but confess
plainly that events have controlled me. Now.
at the end of three years struggle, the ma
tons condition is not what either party or
any man devised or expected God alone can
claim it. Whittier it is tending seems plain.
If God now wills the removal of a great
wrong, and wills also that we of the North.
as well as you of the South shall pay fairly
l :