New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-11-07
why Frederick Douglass Supports
Grant.

MY complaint against Mr.. Greeley Is tina
he has gone over to the enemy and deserte
me and mine. He uses his old white coat a
cover to the wolf of Democracy. But Hor
ace Greeley is a secessionist from principl
not from policy. He is in bad company also
1 should like to vote for him if knew which
one to vote for. should like to elect of
Greeley of the better days of the Tribune
but fear l might elect some other Greeley.
Mr.. A. Albright of Newark, n. j., send
to the Tribune report of a conversation
which he had with Mr.. Douglass, last De
Cember, on a railway train between Spring
field and Boston, which forms a curious com
mentary on the above. Mr.. Albright asked
Mr.. Douglass if he spoke in public for thu
benefit OF some association or party, or OF
his own account. Mr.. Douglass replied tina
he was in the employment Of the Nationa
Republican Committee and spoke Mt places
under their direction. The following da
logue ensued:
| vices ?" Yes, / find it quite remunera
tiv0-have received So, 700 for the past three
months labor"
"Mr. Douglass, your home is in Washing.
ton, and as you are in the employ of Re.
publican Committee, you must know some
thing of the present workings of the Republi.
can party. Who do you think will be our
next President" 81 think General Grant
will be-"
"Why do you think ?" "Grant holds
the reins of the Government in his hands
that is, he has the thousands of office-holders
distributed all through the States, who will
rally at the Convention and urge his nomina-
ton against any other candidates that may
ing at the public crib will not take the chances
of losing the places they now hold by trust
ing to a change in the appointing power"
''Do you think Grant has been faithful to
the trusts of the people; has he proved HIM
self competent in the discharge of the duties
of his Office for the best interests of the whole
country?" "While Grant Is not the states
man would like to see at the head of our
Government, l may say his has been what
we may term fair Administration, and as
such think the people will be content to
trust him for another term"
Mr.. Douglass thought that if there should
be split in the Republican party, it would
not materially affect the chances of Grant
reelection. When asked his opinion of Mr..
Greeley, he said:
81 think Mr.. Greeley good and great
man, a man that would like to vote for,
one who has done more for the colored pee
pie than any other; man that would make
good President for all classes of people,
but, like many other honest men, he could
not be elected on a split in the Republican
party"
So it seems that MIR. Douglass had a high
opinion of Mr.. Greeley, both as citizen and
as man who had done ''more for the colored
race than any other.' But it pays now to
wanna and elsewhere he supports Grant. 1t
is not fair to Mr.. Douglass that it is not more
generally understood that he takes this course
for hire.
In answer to the foregoing characteristic
charges and insinuations on the part of the
New York Tribune, addressed the following
letter to the editor of that journal, and, as
matter of justice, requested its publication,
so that those who read the SANDER might
also read the reply:
WASHINGTON, Oct. 81, 1872.
To the Editor Of the Tribune
SIR: In the Tribune of Wednesday, Octo-
Der Goth, under the heading: "Why Fred
erick Douglass supports Grant," there is
published dialogue, purporting to have
taken place between Mr.. Albright and
myself in railway car between Springfield
and Boston, in the month of December, 1871,
and which dialogue contains one important
mistake-a mistake l do not choose to let
pass without correction. Mr.. Albright re-
ports me as saying that l was at that time
employed by the National Republican Com
mittee. This statement is not true, and
moreover could not be true, since the Ma
h.,
employing any agents to lecture i'm the in
terest Of General Grant or any other can
didate. 1t is in my power to state also for
the edilicatiOn of the Tribune that for any
services have performed for the Republican
party have received exactly $500 from the
National Republican Committee, a sum a lit
tie more than equal to my travelling expenses.
The $1,000 Of which Mr.. Albright speaks,
We're received, as everybody knows who has
any brains, from different literary societies,
before which had the honor to lecture dur
ing the lecture season. In his eagerness to
make out case of improper motives against
me, Mr.. Albright has not only committed
miserable blunder, but has given a color to
conversation quite unwarranted by the facts
in the case. At the time of which he speaks,
Mr.. Greeley was not very prominent before
the country as Presidential candidate, nor
was it very apparent at that time that the
Republican party would be split in the inter-
est of Mr.. Greeley, hence it is not at all prob
able that I gave any strong opinion respect
ing Mr.. Greeley either as a Presidential can
didate or as a man. 1t is proper, also, that
should say that Mr.. Albright entirely mis-
states the truth. when he credits me with
saying that "Grant holds the reins of the
Government in his hands; that is, he has the
thousands of ofiice-holders distributed all
through the States, who will rally at the con-
vention and urge his nomination against any
other candidate that may be brought in the
field. Men who are feeding at the public
crib will not take the chances of losing the
places they now hold by trusting to change
in the appointing power"
never did put the nomination of General
Grant as a probable event, upon any such
ground, but always on the ground of his great
public services, and the fact which has been
all along manifest, that he was the choice OF