The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1865-09-21
Mr. snaulaine peclin4s.

Rumor and the public press advised me
sometime since, that MY name had been
placed in nomination as Superintendent OF
Public Schools of Wapello county, by an
assembly styling itself a Soldiers Conven-
| ton,
Having no official information on the
subject, and having been elected TO a.sim-
liar ctiicein Center Township, i'm the early
history of the county, by voters without
distinction Of party, and having on pre-
vious occasion, while candidate for the
same office, publicly declared (what I still
believe) that the interests Of our common
schools, should never be mingledwith pol
itical or partizan strife, I thought perhaps
no further public expression was demand
ed of me. "s T''t .'' W.T.. ...''3
Still, seeing my name on two tickets, in
connection with those Of different gentle
men, some OF whom co-operated in secur-
ing the nominations on the Union ticket
it is perhaps due to the public, as we'll as
to those who have honored me with their
confidence, by comforting on me the nomi-
nation, that I frankly state my position.
| AS far as have learned, the so-called
Soldiers Convention rests on the single
plank of anti-negro suffrage. "''.1''
! While the nation, stunned and bleeding
| is just recovering from one of the mos,
deadly and gigantic struggles ever wit
| messed in history, with it's finances disor
dered, vast areas of it's Territory ravaged
and 'desolated, and many of its local ant
civil institutions utterly disorganized, on,
might suppose that other subjects at pres
ent ought to engross the attention ofthink
ing people. @'ii. 10 TIL o''H'[ .'s'1 ,'''''s'
Still 1t is not altogether strange that tn,
single impulse Of gratitude should lcat
magnanimous minds to think Of placing
the ballot in the hands of men who hav,
so gnllantly faced the bayonet and the bull
let side by side with themselves. E''+
! This was the case with our fathers. r.
merging from the bloody scenes of the rev
olution, they in their gratitudeto God, ano
! in their reverence for the men he had cho
sen to make, forgot to introduce any dis
tinction OF color into the Constitution o
the United States, or those Of the severa
States with the single exception of Soutl
Carolina. p '' '' '''''
Their failure in thi. respect has never
resulted in the slightest evil or disaster o
any kind in any part of our land, or in any
era of its history. Onthe other hand those
States which have never departed from
their policy on that subject stand first to-
day among all the States in respect te
wealth, power, Intelligence and loyalty
They are high above the fear that one man
in seven among the entire population o
the United States will ever supplant the
rest in case he happens to be colored man
Gentlemen, then, who constitute the anti
NEGRO suffrage party, bethey few or many
must pardon me il, without abating one
jot or little Of that personal courtesy Oh
consideration which should never be en-
croached upon by political difference, | re
spectfully decline to tread with them il
the path originally marked out for us b..
South Carolina alone, one OF the States il
our common country which, I am sorr,
to say, can hardly be regarded as a mode
for anything but treason.
~ Il. A. SPAULDING.