Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1866-07-20

Hist Win faltilIeSS and corrupt EXecu-
tive; but 1t Is the first time have ever
been called upon to contemplate and to
expose such perfidy as yours. 1 will
calculating friendship, from the period
when you took issue with treason in
the Senate, in 1860, down to the Balti-
more convention in 1864, which body,
at the request of the lamented Lincoln
and such earnest radicals as BENJAMIN
f. Waldo, of Ohio, l attended alone for
the purpose of pressing your nomina-
tion for the ee-Presidency, after it be-
came apparent that Hannibal Hamlin,
the incorruptible patriot, was willing to
give way in order to allow representa-
tive of the War Democracy position
upon the national ticket. That you
should have forgotten these facts
amounts to nothing in comparison with
your heartless ingratitude to the party
which placed you in nomination and
elected you Vice President. Individual
ingratitude and cruelty concern only
the person betrayed and injured; but
when, as in your case, the betryal of the
whole country is contemplated, the Of
fence becomes national and should be
accordingly checked and counteracted.
There is, however, one part of your
experience which deserves to be differ
entity considered, especially in view of
the new system of revenge you have
adopted, viz: that of publishing the
private letters OF gentlemen who refuse
to sustain your attempt 10 make loyalty
odlous and treason honorable. Need |
tell you that allude to the disgraceful
lth of March, 1864. lPasn you resotted
to desert the brace and 6eneuotens men
,cho threto opor goa the cloak Of their
Jol9tGeae&s and charity on that day.
you consciously or UnconSciottS,y prepar-
CT for cpc'Y succeeding teachcjy When
You obtained your own consent to do
that single act of shame, your intrigues
with the Copperheads before the fall
elections Of 1865, your veto of the Freed
mems Bureau Bill after having cxplie-
lily promised to sign ii, your revolving
"a OF February speech, your proscrip-
ton OF the brave white and colorcd 10y
alists of the South, and your pnblica-
ton OF private letters written to you in
unsuspectlng confidence, followed nat
urally and irresistibly. Supposing that
any other gentleman could have been
guilty as you were guilty on the 18th of
March, 1855, what would such gentle
man have done? Youstood before your
| otcR country and the ,Uortd dssh0nored
AID degraicd.
The ordinary calumnies Of the Cop
perheads and traitors were coined into
the most frightful maledictions against
You. i know of no scene in history
where public character, for an act of
inexcusablc weakness, was at the same
time so universally execrated by one
party and so indnlgently and magnani-
Mously treated by another. Any true
man, equally unfortunate and equally
forgiven aud defended, would have
turned TO the great Republican Union
party, and have said: For this act of
noble clemency ann bound to YOU
through life and unto death; that
which you have done this day, places
me under obligations from which / can
never escape, and which shall forever
cherish. / feel that | have disgraced
you and dishonored myself, and by a
life of gratitude will prove to YOU that,
although unworthy OF your confidence,
and unworthy of Your vindication, /
can at least do my best to atone for my
offence" But as you seem to be made
of different metal from such character,
you have not only coolly forgotten the
generous men who saved you from dis
grace, but are now engaged in the pleas
ant rastine of siandering them and
prescribing their friends. ] will post
pone description of my own part in
that sad drama, prefcrring to wait for
the other private revelations you prom
ise to lay before the country. 1t il very
certain that, If you have forgotten al
shame, you cannot have forgotten
my connection with yourself during
that unhappy experience. i'fOJQJly no
more graphic dnH Instructive j7dye could
De added to. the curious History Of your
Il administration han q detutqd account
ct that celcbratcd dag. | have not been
as careful in troasuring all the incidents
as you have been in preserving the
private letters of the gentlemen whom
You intended to betray; but where my
own memory falls shall be able to eke
out q complete narrative by turning to
the copious and fascinating columns Of
those traitor and Coppcrhcad newspa-
pers which are now defending ycur
character and your conduct. -.
p ... U.ar ".-- f.r.Tr 81 j. w. FORNEY.