The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-11-15
The wheeling Post once.

idea that in opposing Mr.. Johnsou's
present blind and fatal policy, we had
no higher motive than simply TO retail
ate upon him for superseding us in the
Wheeling Post Office. And, also, he
has labOred to prove that 1t is very un-
grateful in us to be opposing that poll
cy. In other words, that it is gross in
gratitude to requite Mr.. johnson as we
are doing, in return for the obligations
We owe him, because we held office un-
der him for short time. We have a
very brief and plain answer to make to
the editor of the rebel sheet, in reply to
NIL that he has said, at ono time and
another, on this subject. In the first
place, we desire to inform him, If he
does not already know it, that even
judged by his own standard of official
service and personal Independence, we
are not,no never were, under any Obli-
cations whatever to President johnson,
We never received an Office from him,
and were in no wise indebted to him
for the position of Postmaster. Both
our commissions are signed by Abra-
ham Lincoln and both were promptly
and freely rendered by him to US without
our asking. In the summer of 1854, pre-
Vious tohis reelection, we rendered him,
through the regular department, our
resignation of the office, desiring from
that time on to devote whatever energy
we had to the sole purpose of attending
TO the interests of this journal, and in
so doing to help and strengthen tie
arm of his administration, and the war
sentiment of the country, to the full ez-
tent of our ability. In our letter of
resignation, we said:
My second reason for rendering nv
resignation is that ] desire to do nv
whole duty as editor in this campaign,
and To assist the Government 10 the
full extent of my ability in crushing its
enemies ut tho frOntnnd rear. Irealize
that there is a moral power, under GER
tam circumstances, out of Office. that
there never can be in it, and while am
conscious that had / never held this or
any other position under the Govern
ments l would have labored just the
Enme for the success OF the Union
cause, yet also realize that there must
be those among the enemies of the Ad-
mlnlsbrattOn and, perhaps, among It's
friends. who do not think so. desire,
therefore, to be untrRmmelled in the
estimation of all, and not to have my
words construed as the mere matter OF
course sentiments OF a beneficiary"
The foregoing letter of resignation
was forwarded to Washington on the
18th day of August, 1864, and it was not
until about tho middle OF October fol-
lowing that IA successor was appointed.
In the meantime that successor, uuex-
Pectedly to himself ana to us, was NOM
mated and afterwards elected to the
Legislature, and could not therefore
qualify AS Postmaster. Whereupon Mr..
Dennison, the Postmaster General,
wrote to us as follows:
''In view of the circumstances sur
rounding the Wheeling PostOflice,
am satisfied the public interests would
charge of 1t, and IL agreeable to you to
continue, Will recommend your reap
pOintment to the President ut the close
of your presentterm
You will Oblige me by an carly an
Bwer."
The foregoing is the whole of Mr..
DennisOn's letter, and we cite it, as
we'll AS an extract from our own, 20
show just how much force there is in
tho assertions of the rebel sheet that
we were nctuated by any consid-
eratiOnS, other than proper ones, in re-
tanning the position of Postmaster un-
der Mr.. johnson after his accidental
accession to power. We never felt TINT
we were under the slightest obligation
TO him. Wehad labored faithfully in the
cause whose triumph had carried him
into disposition. We had asked him for
nothing, expected nothing, and wanted
nothing at his hands. We were will
ling to leave the position held under
his predecessor, long before we final
ly did leave it under himself,
in order to work for the election of
the ticket on which he ran for the Vice
Presidency, and that too without the
slightest expectation on our part that
we would hold Office under the re-elec-
ted administration. Had we been
disposed to sell out our principles TO
Andrew johnson we could have hold
tho Office Mt Will throughout his
term. 1t is cheap thing for a
man to say that his principles are be-
yOnd price, when no price worth con-
sidering has been offered for them, but
it certainly is not presumptuous to say
that one who resigned his office volun-
tarily, under the circumstances set forth
above, may reasonably claim that the
same office could not purchase his sup
port to principles which he did not en-
dorse. If the rebel editor cannot
reconcile the holding of official posi-
ton under such circumstances, will
he please tell us how he himself
stands affected. He has character
lied tho man from whom he has
sought, and under whom he now holds,
the office of Postmaster, as a brute and
beast, and us everything that is low
and vile. He has spoken of him us a
disgrace to tho position he now holds,
and as utterly unfit in any respect to
occupy the place. And yet, as soon as
an opportunity was afforded, he has
made haste to seek Office at. his hands,
ana now is MS dumb as nn oyster as
to Mr.. Johnson's record on the
great issue OF the day. If official
AMUSEMENT can go farther or stoop
lower than that, in order that thrift
may follow fawning, we should like
to know what the act would be.
Negro :SuTraEe--A Plank Movement
1.-The Chicago Times Leads on on
Behalf OF the Democracy.
We invite general attention to an ex-
traordinary editorial article which we