The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1871-01-26

floated about among irresponsible news
mongers, seemed for q while like a form
liable Islander; but you made it utterly
contemplate.
CAMERON & STANTON.
VI.-Your account of Mr. Cameron's
retirement from the wal department and
Stanton's appointment on his suggestion
demanded r~efutation, because 1t not only
perverted and misrepresented a fact of
some general Importance, but was q Sc
rious injury to Mr.. Stanton's character as
it then stood. Between these two men it
did not seem as if there could be any re-
lations which implied confidence or friend
ship. If Stanton himself was any author
lty for his own sentiments, he had no re-
spect either for the horse contracts or the
''nigger arming" las he called lt) ofhis pre-
decessor. and Mr.. Lincoln hadlust as little.
Stanton was appointed not TO carry outand
to put an end to Cameron's policy with all
its corruptions. l admit that since the
evidence you have furnished of Mr.. Stan
tons duplicity in other matters, it becomes
possible to believe he may have been sin
cere about this also. Still your attempt
to deceive the public was inexcusable.
OF my own knowledge l know nothing
about Cameron,s appointment or removal;
but l will give you the main facts briefly
and without the ala enorniG, as l nave
them on undoubted authority, and as 1
firmly believe them. A bargain was
made at the Chicago convention of 1860,
that in case of Lincoln's nomination aid
election Cameron should receive a cabinet
appointment. Mr.. Lincoln was no party
to this contract; but after much persua-
sion and pressure he consented to ratify it
by trying Cameron as secretary of war.
Before the end of nine months the expert
ment ended, as you know, and as every
body else knows, in a complete and total
failure. Mr.. Lincoln, seeing this, deter
mined to get rid of him, and expressed his
resolution in a letter addressed to Mr..
Cameron and carried by Mr.. Chase, then
secretary of the treasury. That letter is
not now in existence. hut Mr.. Chase de-
scribed it as cIrt-that is to say, plain,
short, ed direct. Nh, Cameron under
stood it as an abrupt dismissal. He after
wards got it suppressed, and a correspond
ence different in its whole tenor and effect
substituted in its place. Even since then
he has been trying to create the opinion
that he retired from the department full of
rich Jobs, not only without compulsion,
but in spite of the Presidents affectionate
desire that he should remain and manage
IQ6m us AC udu uOIlO OSIOIC II AC
makes it q part of the story that he was
permitted to designate his successor. He
contrived to produce some belief of this
on the minds of Mr.. Chase ; but if Mr..
Chase had know more of Cameron's char
acter and previous history, he Z mt have
been less credulous.
OF the fact that Stanton was appointed
on Cameron's suggestion we have not a
spark of direct evidence except Cameron's
own statement, and all the circumstances
make that improbable. If the President
made up his mind to remove the lncum-
bent, he certainly would nothave proceed
ed to execute his resolution by writing
him a curt letter of dismissal without hav-
ing settled upon somebody to succeedhim
for at such atime as that he could not
mean to leave the war department GceDh-
dlous while he would be hunting a head
for it. But concede that no thought was
taken for the new officer before the remov-
al of the old one, can 1t be that the Presi-
dent decided the whole question in favor
of a man never mentioned before. on the
m5ze suggestion of the officer he was dis
carding, and without seeking advice from
those members of the cabinet who still re
tanned his favor? The suppressed letter
is, therefore, not only an important fact in
itself, but it has the gravest influence on
the credibility of Mr.. Cameron's whole
tale. Other questions signify but little In
comparison to that. 1.-THE correspondence
afterwards published was not that which
actually took place, We mustpresume every
thing against the party for whom, or at
whose instance the spoliation was COM
united. The short. plain, direct, crrtnote,
with which Mr.. Lincoln opened the bust
ness, would have explained everything, if
it had been permitted to see the light; and
it could not have been destroyed except
for the purpose of making a false impress
sion. This compels me to show that your
conduct in the affair has been such as ad-
mits of nc justification except that burn
ing loyalty and intense patriotism which
converts an vice into virtue.
cAMERoN's RETIREMENT.
After your first article appeared, and be-
fore my answer to it, a leading and very
distinguished member of the republican
party II this state told you that you had
misstated the facts concerning Mr.. Came
ron's retirement, and especially the i'm
portant and principle fact of the suppress
ed note from the President; and he refer
red to the chief justice, who, upon being
Intercepted, gave you the authentic in
formation that sucha note had been writ
ten, delivered and suppressed. Thereup>
on you solemnly promised that if you ever
had oecasionJto refer to the subject again.
you wouldteH Lhe whOLe truth. Besides,
Judge Chase, after my review of you,
wrote me aletter from Ssndusky, Ohio, in
which he said that! he bore the note in
question, and mentioned that he had also
written to you. What he wrote you of
course lido not know, but he certainly did
not give you one version, and me another
You had, therefore, the written statement
OF the chief Justice, in addition to his yer.
bal assurance. With all these lights be-
fore you, and with all the obligations of
lcommon veracity, strengthened by an ex-
press promise to tell the truth, what do
You do in Jour second articles Why, you
simply stick to- your first story. Nay,
you take great trouble to smuggle the
truth away, and bury it out of sight; for,
instead Of producing Judge Cnase's letter
to yourself, IN which, no doubt, is fairly
stated, you give us an extract from anoth-
er letter written by him to Cameron, from
which you are permitted to quote"1
nothing whatever on the subject of that
important subject. / forbear to say much
that ought to be said about this part of
your behaviour, because the distinguished
gentleman before spoken of has taken You
IN hand, and will doubtless Jerk an ac-
acknowledgement of the facts ont of you, in
spite of all your shutting. .
THAT TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOU
SAND DOLLARS.
VII. Aword before we part about the
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
raised out of the ~treasuryfor Gov. Morton.
Taking your account ofthat business as
correct, l proved in my former letter that
it was in the highest degree criminal
You left no escape from the conclusion
that the parties were guilty of embezzle-
ment under the act of 1916. Your mar
rative of the transaction impressed it. with
all the marks of what is called in the flash
language of Washington ga big steal,
You showed that the parties so understood
it at the time, for you put a conversation
into their mouths by which they are made
to admit their liability to prosecution and
imprisonment. ,'4
1'saw plainly that this could not be
true. Mr.. Stanton's worst enemies never
/ CHARGED him with that kind ~fdishones