Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-03-21
Charles 4. Dana.

= ant Secretary of War, has been one of Il
3 ablest and boldest of the staunch Unio
journals of the country in condemning Il
s Presidents recent policy. Stung by i
criticisms, the President has endeavore
to retaliate by causing the publication {
the following private letter. over whic
the johnson Copperheads and COnservi
tives, from the New York World to th
S Cleveland Herald, are raising shouts c
3 spiteful triumph, fancying that by it Nj
Dana is entirely annihilated. We Civ
these exultsnt gentlemen the full benef
of the republication of the letter in on
columns. Here it is:
CHICAGO, January 20, 1866.
To the President
| DEARSIR: Some of my friends in the
New York delegation in Congress wan
me to be Collector of New York. shall
be glad to have that Office, and according.
ly 1 address myself directly to you
have been resident of New York city
for nearly twenty years, until few
months since, when came here on leav-
ing the War Department. know New
York, its merchants and its politicians
but by reason of my connection with the
War Department, have been absent so
as to be free from all identification with
the political factions or personal contro-
versies by which the Union party there
has been much divided.
| I believe that there is no person Of any
prominence in the party whose appoint
ment would give greater general satisfac-
tion than mine.
Should you be disposed to entertain the
idea, or to wish for any information con-
cerning my capacity to administer the
Office, there is no one who can judge bet
ter as to that than Mr. Stanton. Let me
add that I am myself confident that 1
could perform the duties, should they be
intrusted to me, to the advantage of the
public service and to your entire satisfac-
ton.
am, with profound respect, your faith
full servant CHARLES A DANA.
Well, what does all this prove? Sim-
ply that on the goth of January, two
months ago, when the President was, or
was supposed to be, in perfect harmony
with the Union party, Mr.. Dana was an
applicant for office at his hands. There is
surely nothing very crushing in this reve-
lation, and we rather think that Mr.. Dana
will survive it.
Since the letter quoted above was writ
ten, however, the political sky has changed.
The President has betrsJ ed trustful and
confding people. His veto message, his
Birthday speech to acrowd of rebels, from
q stand on which stood Aiken, Clampitt,
and Florence, and his subsequent naughty
and ddomineering course toward the leaders
of the party which elected him, are all
proofs of his desertion. As soon as that
desertion was manifest, Mr.. Dana, through
the columns of his paper, spoke out in in.
dignant protest. The Republican pro-
claimed the sentiments of the people
the sentiments to which thousand Union
journals, less ably and eloquently, perhaps,
but no less earnestly, were giving utter
ance. All honor to Mr., Dana for his
manly independence.
The reader should bear in mind that at
the time of the veto message Mr.. Dsna's
application had not been refused, and that
the office for which he applied was still
vacant, and remains SO to the present day.
By throwing the influence of his powerful
paper into the scale in behalf of the Presi-
dent Mr.. Dana could have increased ten
fold his chances for the Office. But to do
this would involve a contemplate deser-
tion of principle, and an abandonment Of
the Union party,of which he was incapa-
BILE. That all ofiee-holders and Office
seekers are not so conscientious the course
of the Cleveland Herald affords painful
proof.
An effort to give some point to this
pointless publication was made by the
Washington Republican, in which the let
ter was first published, by quoting, apropOs
to the letter, the following mutilated ex-
tract from an editorial in the Chicago
Republican:
"The schemeto buy off the present man
ayers of the Republican by Government
collectorships = : is very smart, but
it won't win"
The implication of course is that Mr..
Dana was pretending TO snap his fingers at
an Office which he had applied for and
failed to get. This implication is false,
and yet it is made by the papers which
have hastened to attack Mr.. Dana. Even
the Cleveland Herald has insinuated the
lie which it dared not directly assert. |
Now the articlein the Chicago Republican
was in denial of report that its publisher,
Mr.. Mack, had been rendered the Collec- |
tor-ship of Chicago. And this, by garbling |
and mutilating, is twisted by Mr.. Dana's
enemiesto apply to him and the New York |
Collector-ship. This fact affords an excel
lent illustration of the style of weapons |
which the supporters of Mr.. johnson are
using in their war upon the Union party. |
Mr.. Seward and the President.