American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-08-28
Dent-He lays down his Carpet-bag
to Hand" Boutwell, One" MY
Brother in Laws Policy

WASHINGTON, Ang. II, 1869.
Hon. George s. Boutwell, Secretary Of
the Treasury:
SIR Il shall make little apology
for asking your attention to my let
ter, and less for the nature of its
contents. You were the first to deny |
the political orthodoxy of my friends |
and myself, and by all the rules
of the forum ! am entitled to a
defense. Again, yon hold an office
of the Republic, and your acts
therein are legitimate subjects of
criticism by the humblest citizen
thereof. But in some respects we
are both aspirants for place, with
this ditference-yOu aim to be next
President, with every assurance Of
success except in the opinion of the
people: while | seek an humber
place with my hopes in disastrous
eclipse, except i'll the Judgment of
Mississippi. So, in the probable re-
suits of the future, we both stand
averse to the Judgment of the coun-
try.
In the pursuit Of your ambition
you are uns cruEulOus as to the
means of your success. Your organ,
the New York San, in the same
breath ridicules the capacity of your
peculiar fitness for this Office.
Your excellent tool, Tullock, be-
lann,o naal-loss ir- tho ,,4ts+.ie ulation
of your department in the interest
of your ambition. and so defiant of
the wishes Of the President and the
country, that to save yourself from
an explosion of popular indignation
You found it convenient to transfer
him to another sphere of scandalous
activity, where his talens might be
exerted with equal effect and effron-
terry.
Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi
and Texas, not to mention anything
SO humble us myself, were obstruc-
tons in the way of your success, be-
cause, through President Grants
intervention in excluding the pro-
scriptive clauses from their organic
laws. these States are brought into
the Union firmly welded to his sup
port. Now, this is in direct conflict
with your systematiZed plans; for
what General Grant gets in the next
election, clearly Mr. Boutwell, will
not get; and therefore you have de-
nounced the conservative republi-
cans, who are for Grant, that you
may obtain the proscriptive republi-
cans, who are for Boutwell,, and, by
some strange, dexterOus manage
ment and occult political strategy,
you have SO worked upon the conf
dence of the President as to cause
him to flourish the club with which
you intend to break his head, by in
ducing him to join you in denuncia-
tion of the cons' rvative republicans,
a party created by his magnanimity,
and triumphant through his ma ga ge-
ment.
! But, sir, your purpose was easily
discerned, and has twofold object,
namely, to destroy the national re-
publican party in the South, and
then to reconstruct from its shatter-
ed fragments Boutwell, party, with
no Richmond in the field to strike
for your crown. But you cannot
succeed in this scheme Of desperate
enterprise, you mean to ruin re-
suit, from present appearances, much
more likely to be reached.
Your official Intervention for
Wells, for instance, gave 10000 ma
jority for Walker. Your letter to
Stokes gave Senter Tennessee by an
overwhelming vote of 10000. Your
marvellous political sagacity, now
active in Mississippi and Texas, will
repeat your calamity, and again
overwhelm you with discontinue
and defeat. Superadd to these re.
suits of your unapproachable folly
the imposition on these States OF
your iron clad oath, and the aliena.
ton is complete, landing them all in
the outstretcbed arms of democracy
, But the consequence of your folly
does not end here. Ohio and Penn.
sylvania and others will follow, de
eide their political status in October
and the North will echo back the
: condemnation of the South and peal
, in Your ears this fact-that there is
still enough of the incorruptible vir
tue of the Republic to rebuke YOU
, for a wanton repression of that most
| sacred right, the elective franchise
But, sir, this will not deter you
, from your mad course. You viii
, still persist until every prop thai
| supports our party is stricken away
and the whole grand superstructurt
+ tumbles about our ears in hopeless,
ruin.
" hen you were appointed secre
tary OF the treasury, and unanimous
, ly confirmed by a senate of ever,
| shade of political opinion, Gid YOU
not take an oath to administer you
office impartially, and for the exclu
sive object of it's creation-to collec
the revenue and control the finances
of the country? Is not that offic
the property of the nation, and your
;, self only clothed for a time with
u little brief authority? Then, sir
. how do you explain this pervertiol
of its legitimate uses and function
into a means and instrument of Op
: preston, and compel the election o
= obnoxious rulers upon the people o
i the South Is such a course consis
tent with your oath of office, or d
T you call this great moral idea
u But, Mr.. Boutwell,, though you hav
= thus postituted the powers of you
y office for purposes of oppression
= without the warrant of conscienc
y Or law, it may be that You can teI
me by what authority you presume t
= pronounce upon my political ortho
. doxy. Who constituted you the in
. fallible hope of republicanism VIII
l. gave you authority to hurl the poll
y: ical anathemas of party? Agar
i what right had you to commit til
administration to you policy? Hav
= you to learn yet that you are only
y part of the administration, and nc
Il the whole of it; though your friend
= believe that monamania has seize
- your mind on that subject, and tina
: you verify believe yourself the State
q Very respectfully,
- LEWIS DENT.