The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1865-05-24

lican furnishes the following account oi
President Johnson:
"There seems to be gent raj desire to
know the character of the man who, by
the act of an assassin, now wields more
power, for the veal or woe Of the human
race, than perhaps any other single indi,
vidual on the face of the globe. The start
ling TACT has presented itself to US that, in
this critical juncture of affairs, power almost
unlimited to direct and control the destinies
OF our country, has passed to untried hands.
The people have too much at stake to be
Indifferent. They wish to know the man.
The questions are not so much-Is hc
radical? Is he conservative? as, Is he
honest? Is he capable? Has he wisdom to
guide US? Is he Of sterling integrity Is
he q good man, on whose purity Of inten-
tions we can all relyf
l shall speak of his character as known
before the war. His early disadvantages
as to education are already known. His
wife taught him to write, after marriage
tie was tailor by trade. lie began his
political career at Greenville, Tenn, by
organizing mechanics club, the object of
which was to defeat the petty office holders
OF the town, who formed kind Of arsto.
cratic clique.
| He is an effective stump-speaker. In
his public speeches the only prominent
mistake showing his want of education, is
the Use Of singular verbs with plural nouns,
and plural verbs with singular nouns. His
voice, at first, is whining, but as he warns
with his subject it seems to entwiue itself
around the hearts Of his followers and holds
them spell-boun1.
He canvassed Tennessee twice for the
office of governor. The first time he was
opposed by Gustavus A. Henry, called the
"eagle orator." and the second time by
Meredith p. Gentry, two Of the ablest whig
orators of the state. Both of his opponents
sickened and abandoned the feld without
completing The canvass; and they were
both badly defeated at the polls. Henry
had been a member sf the legislature the
year preceding his canvass, and had Gerry.
wandered the congressional districts (John-
son called it "Henrymandered'D so as to
make johnson, who had been democratic
! member OF congress ten years, resident OF
a whig district, and thus threw him out OF
his seat For Henry's great services in
that legislature he was to be made COVER
nor; for bis services in that legislature,
johnson determined to defeat him before
the people, and he did it manfuly, success
fully.
He deals largely in facts and figures in
his speeches to the people. He can interest
crowd Ct Tennessee backwoodsmen in an
argument en- the causes aid sequences
of the public debts of England, France and
Austria, and he will cause every man to
feel that he thoroughly comprehenis the
question. He has to perfection that happy,
hat inimitable faculty of raising the people
up in their own estimation to the height oil
his great argument.
He has good political foresight. After
he takes what he believes TO be the popular
side of any question, he does not daily with
the opposite party, he goes boldly to the
~or!', announces his position, and begins
to fight for it Immediately. You have no
doubt where he stands. In the beginning
OF his canvass with Gentry, the temperance
organization determined, as they were not
strong enough to run an Independent can.
didate, to address certain interrogatories to
the two candidates and to vote for him
whose answer best suited him. johnson,
who was certainly temperate man at that
time, treated the committee roughly, would
not deign to give them polite answer, and
almost threw the interrogatores back into
their faces. Gentry, on the ether hand,
who was inclined to be convivial answered
the committee very politely, and quite to
their satisfaction.
Johnson's party friends thought he was
injudicious in insulting the temperance in.
terest, but the sequel proved his greater
political wisdom. for he made point of it
in all his speeches, told of his interviews
with the committee, and his responses, and
then he openly struck for the whisky inter.
est-and won.
He has always been states rights demo
crat. He believes in strict construction
of the constitution. His democracy is Of a
peculiar sort, however He worships it.
1t is his only religion. In his first inaugu.
raj, as governor OF Tennessee, he said that
democracy and religion were handmaids Of
each other; that they were converging lines,
like Jacobs ladder, extending from earth
to heaven, gradually approaching each
other, until, reaching heaven, they unite in
theocrccy.
The popularity of the address caused it
10 be copied in the Partisan papers. He
proclaims himself the champion Of the peo.
ple's rights. He is opposed to penitentary
convicts working at the mechanic arts, be
cause the products of their labor come into
competition with the honest mechanics -
He made point of this when he ran for
governor. His opponent defied him to sug.
gest a better system. He did not know
what other plans might be adopted he
said he knew the present system was wrong
While he was governor he made coat,
perhaps a suit, for Judge Pepper, then
Judge of circuit court in Middle Tennes
see. Pepper has been blacksmith, and,
as one good turn deserved another, he made
a shovel and a pair OF tongs for johnson
Letters were written by each and duly pub
lished.
He will acknowledge to no error in his
political career. He is at all times ready
to defend his course from beginning to
ending. 1t is thought that he introduces
resolutions and bills, not so much to secure
their passage as to make a record. He j.
scrupulously careful to say nothing in his
speeches that he cannot prove; or, if he
does say anything Of doubtful truth, he
gives his authority. 1t would, perhaps, be
nearer correct to say that he makes no
statements in his speeches that can be
proven untrue. To illustrate: Henry, to
get the Irish vote of Memphis. referred to
Johnson's vote in congress against the ap
preparation for starving Ireland" the
Irish were wild in their applause for hin,
johnson, in reply, said he believed in a
stric. construction Of the constitution that
hs had no right to vote away the peoples
money for such an object. but, fellow
citizens" he continued, "when that resolu
ton was defeated, knowing that we had full
power over our per diem, introduced a
resolution that We should appropriate that
for a certain time, which would have
amounted to many thousand dollars and