Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-09-27
The President and the Radicals.


The Washington correspondent of the
Cincinnati Gazette gives the following
statement of al interview between Presi,
dent Johnson and a New England Senator.
which We have every reason to believe ex.
! presses the true feelings of the former
toward that portion of his political friends
who entertain fears that his reconstruc-
ton policy is not the best that might be
adopted
"a few days ago a distinguished New
England Senator, noted for his plainness
of speech, told President Johnson that it
was pub ished and extensively believed
/ that (the President) intended in his future
policy to ignore the radical element, and
ask If such was the case. Mr. johnson.
in his reply, declared that he never. at
any time, had even intimated or intended
to cut the radicals; that he allowed the
largest latitude of opinion on the right of
the coiorcd peop'e to vote; that all he had
done or was doing towards the reorganiz-
alton of the South was an experiment
that might be successful, and might not
be. II it was unsuccessful. none would be
more ready to alter his course than would
he. That one thing of which the radicals
and all others may be satisfied was, that
the freedmen of the South should be fully
protected in their freedom and rights"
Nor Is there any such hostility to the
President, on the part Of the radicals, n
the Democratic papers state, and would
be glad to have believed Major General
Butler Is supposed to be about as radical
as any man who belongs to the Union
party. He spoke of president johnson in
the following terms of respect and con-
fidence, at the Massachusetts State Con-
vention, recently held at Worcester.
Speaking of the Democratic indorse-
ments of President Johnson's policy, Gen
eral Butler said
1--WE, the Union men of Massachusetts,
all indorse President Johnson's policy, rs
we understand it, W. aided to elect
President Johnson We knew his ante
cedents. He accepted the platform upon
which we helped to place him at Balti-
more. He declared over and over again,
upon his accession to the chief power his
political convictiCns; and they were
never~ceasng hostility to rebels and re-
bellion, and punishment to chief traitors
with hanging by the neck Iarplansel !, and
We haze seen that he has hanged all that
have as yet been convicted. Renewed
applause.
wv bile we may differ from President
Johnson as to whether the time has ar
rived in which it is safe to reinvest rebels
with political power, and allow them to
reorganize themselves in arms, or as to
the effect to their former Constitutions
upon their present political rights yet
there is by no means "A necessity that this
difference should he disagreement: GER
tainiy not until it is seen by results that
some vital principle is involved or some
detriment to the EcpGblic is produced
We lock at the attempt to reconstruct the
rebel States, as we believe the President
looks upon it, as experimental merely,
but an experiment well enough to be
tried
That the Union party does not intend to
commit s:,icide for the qualification of the
copPe, heads who voted the war failure.
is sufficiently demons trated by the late
elections in Maine and Vermont The
reaction, of which so much has been pre-
dicted was not precentibls in those
States, except upon the Democratic -
ganization, which was worso beaten than
in 1864, when tho whirlwind &C the pco-
pies wrath broke that once defiant party
IN pieces.