The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1872-10-18
HALE ON GREELEY.
Letter from the Old ni-Slavery
Candidate for the Presidency.
The Danger OF Electiig Horace Greeley
to the Chief Aagistracy.
Mr. Hale Advisos All His Friends to
Vcte for the Reelection Of
Gen. Grant.

Mr.. John P. H. Jenkins, of Norris
town, Pa, wrote to tae Hon. John P
Hale, of New Hampshire, regarding hi
position in the present campaign, ane
received the following reply:
DEAR SIR: have received your let
ter informing me that you had seer
among the "news items" of the paper
the statement that l had "quite recent
" declared preference for Mr.. Greeley
for President" and asking me if the
report is true. That l have either de
clared or entertained any such prefer
ence is news TO me. The report is q
specimen of the means used by the
cabal of Democratic and Radical" "
oficeseekers who support Mr.. Greeley,
in their desperate attempt to deceive
the honest masses of both parties. You
say you have taken the liberty of ask
ing the question, "being a namesake''
of mine, and an approval of my "polit-
ical history" and you avow your con-
yiction that the statement is "prems-
ture, if not absolutely false" You are
entirely correct in this supposition, and
it is gratifying to me to receive such an
assurance that 1 have maintained the
cause of liberty and justice first, and
peace and order afterward, in such q
manner as to render my spostssy in.
credible.
You ask my explanation of the course
taken by Mr.. Greeley, Mr.. Sumner and
others.
Mr.. Greeley's case is plain enough.
On pages 35S and 359 of the first vol
ume of his History of the American
Conflict" you will find his own account
of himself as he was at the breaking
out of the rebellion. He there says
that on the second day after Mr.. Lin
coins election, November 9, 1860. "the
following leading article appeared in
the New York Tribune" You will find
he says in that article: "If the Cotton
States shall decide that they can do
better out of the Union than in it, we
insist on letting them go in peace" To
avoid all possibility of being misunder-
stood, he repeats the saae doctrine in
different words: "Whenever con-
siderable portion Of our Union shall de-
hberately resolve to 60 out, We shall
resist all coercive measures designed to
keep it in" Lest one article might not
make his position sufficiently conspic-
nous, he wrote and published many
articles containing the same doctrine.
Lest all his newspaper articles on the
subject should, in the course of time,
be forgotten, he copies one of them into
hn History of the American Conflict"
fer the apparent purpose of preserving,
in the durable form of historical re-
cord, his undisputed claim to the title
d an original secessionist.
If q majority of Southern voters, that
u, Of free white men, would "deliber-
ately resolve to 60 out" he pledged
himself to resirt all coercive measures
designed to keep them in. That was
the simplest plan ever suggested for the
dissolution Of the Union and the per
petuation of slavery. What stronger
invitation "to 60 out" could he have
given the South than that pledge "to
resist all coercive measures designed to
keep it in?" Shareholders, anxious
sto 20 out" but dreading the "coercive
Measures read Mr.. Greeley's pledge
republished in every Southern PAPER.
lb effect is well known. Among the
Influences that changed the doubling
md hesitating white men Of the South
into firm and ardent secessionists, none
wn more effective than Mr.. Greeley's
pledge to resist all coercive measures" !"
Whether that pledge WAS the means OF
turning the scale, and giving the active
secessionists their majority, we may not
certainly know until the day of final
reckoning. But this we do know, that
for all the ruin, desoIation and misery
Of the secession war, no man, North or
South, ID more responsible than Mr..
Greeley.
ltb worthy of note that Mr.. Greeley
admitted the iiiegaAty of secession. He
admitted the right of the Government
to ssve the Union by "coercive meas
ures,n but insisted that the Government
should not exercise that right. If he
had thought the Union had no right to
defend itself, he would have taken q
position where brave man, entertain
ins that opinion, might sorrowfully
stand. But admitting the right to de
lend the nations life, he insisted that
u shouid not be defended, but he basely
surrendered without bl.w. The
Heason Of his position was only sur
passed by its cowa, dice.
Mr.. Black president Bucbansn's At,
!ofney Genersll saw this dastardly plank
IN Nj. dreeley's platform, and. under
ms advice given November 90. 1850. Mr..
buchanan, in his last annual message
70 Congress, took the ground tbat the
0overnment had no right "to coerce"
: seeding State. Observe the dates
mo the Language, and you will see that,
onder Blacks advice, Buchanan adopted
vfeeieys secession doctrine. all but the
wardiy part of it. The venomous
1cose with which Mr.. Greeley followed
Hent Buchanan to his grave, and
u piack up to the year of grace 1872,
e explained by the fact that their
Ssecaon Of the pusiIianimous plank Of
~ secession platform exposed him to
sa'sersal contempt.
when he found his secession princi.
unpopular, and the subscription
~ q the Tribune falling of, that psper
~ advocated an exterminating
merciless prosecution Of the war,
s.lnstanding . vast majority of the
'aern VII les, encouraged by his SOL
bseout.h ~
~ ,;spRose he hired somebody else 10
~ l.