New-York tribune., 1872-07-31
SENATOR SUuNERS LETTER.

There have been few utterances during Ihio
Presidential contest which have so much Sig
nifcance and weight as the letter of Senator
Simmer 70 the colored men, elsewhere printed
this morninp. Mr.. Sumner is historic charac-
for Ant-Slayery and famous before the
Republican party was heard of, his command
ing position at once made him one OF It's
foremost leaders. His voice, eloquence, IN
Auence largely determined the character OF the
marty ITSELF and his labOrs have greatly con-
tributed to its ultimate triumphs. His appear
ance in the present contest, therefore, is that
of a man who may fairly claim large share
in the authorship of the party which has so
great place in the history of the country, as
well as of the advancement of the human
race. His letter is a strong argument in the
cause in which he has labOred for so many
years; it is a scholarly production; more than
this, it is an unanswerabe political thesis.
The Senator traces the antecedents OF the
two candidates for the Presidency with an un-
erring and forcible hand. Grant, who shares
in the large hOnors of the party which Sumner
helped to make never had any sympathy with
that party or its principles till it brought him
high Office; Greeley was a friend and cham
piOn of human freedom, civil and religious
liberty, and a constant foe to every
form of oppression from his earliest
manhood. This is the key OF the
whole letter. Throughout all its ringing
sentences we can hear the thrOb of indigna-
ton beating underneath. There is fine scorn
in the Senator's constant protest against
Grants being weighed in the scale with that
early and persistent reformer, Horace Greeley.
He sees that Grant has no heartfelt sympathy
with the black men his cOntemptuOus treat
of the Black Republic of Hayt, and his whole
insufferable bearing towards the cOlored
race, are conclusive on that point. And
to measure this mans weak and
pitiful claims to the vote of the freedmen of
America against those of one who has spent
the lifetime of q generation in the service of
human rights seems to the last degree mon
strous and presumptuOus. The accusation that
Mr.. Greeley has departed from the principles
to which he has been for so many years
devoted is disposed of by this same line OF
argument The claim that he will do so
hereafter is an insult to reason. The
Senator lucidly shows how false and artful is
the charge that Mr. Greeley has become
Democrat by receiving Democratic support
and he quotes the famous historic examples
of men who have been elected by Democratic
and Republican votes without losing their own
political character or betraying any political
trust. Salmon p. Chase and Charles Sumner
were both sent to the United States Senate by
such combination as that which will elect
Mr. Greeley to the Presidency. Who accuses
these illustriOus men of recreancy?
But the whole argument of the letter Is ad-
dressed to the colOred people who sought the
advice and opinion of the Senator. To them
his counsel is emphatic, kindly, and intelligent.
Ii is difficult to see how these generous words
can be received with other than hearty con-
currence and consent. The colored fellow
citizens who addressed Mr.. Sumner acknowl-
edged the right which he had earned to give
them a watchword in the present juncture of
affairs. To them the time is critical; for
them, pointing to the Liberal candidates and
the platform so heartily adopted by the
Democratic party, he utters this noble phrase
-"The Unity of the Republic and the Equal
Rights of All, with Reconciliation" By that
sign we cOn1uer.