New-York tribune., 1872-08-30
CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENCE
OUR POLITICAL PROTEUS.
FEW MORE FACTS ABOUT GEN. DIX.

at what they call the inconsistency" OF Deinocfats
in supporting Mr. Greeley and the inconsistency
of Mr. Greeley in accepting the support OF hls
former political opponents. sufficient answer TO
these barnaces of the dead past is found in the
living issues which unite Mr. Greeley and his pres
ent supporters of whatever name; but Tor the sake
of decency it is hoped that all references to con
sistencyD will be dropped among the supporters OF
Grant and Dix, at least in the State of New-York.
If there be any party. having offices in its gift, to
which Cen Dix has not given in his adhesion, the
fact has certainly escaped my notice. He has been
successively Hard-Sbell Democrat Soft-Shell
Democrat a Buchanan Democrat " War Demo-
craft OF pro-Slavery Republican, an anti-Sayery
| Republican a President Johnson man, Grant Re
publican. o Liberal Republican Gust before the
| Cincinnati C0nvention), and finally, Grant ke-
nominationist ust after the Cincinnati COnyentlonl
And it is singular fact las Mr.. Weller would say,
an extraordinary coincdence' that all these sue
cessive changes have concurred with supposed
change of that tide in the affairs of men" which,
| when taken at tho food, leads on to fortune-to
nomination" for office, if not always to an office
| actually in hand
/ presume that all the political characteristics
which have above indicated as belonging to Gen.
Dix at one time or another of his variegated public
career, familiar TO most of your readers except
| that denomination which classifes him as " war
Democrat" pro-Slavery Republican. proceed,
therefore to elucidate this transition epoch in his
political history from Buchanan Democracy to Lin
coin Republicanism.
1t is known to everybody IN New-York that Mr..
Thulow Weed represented the Conservative" wing
of the Republican party. In the year 1860 he was
anxious to purchase the peaceful accession of Mr..
Lincoln TO the Presidency by making fresh cOnces-
sons to the pro-Slavery propagandiss of the South
At little later date he advocated the Border
State proposition" in the interest of Sla-
very. After the war had begun, he
yehementy and steadily resisted all assaults upon
the institution of Slavery in the seeded States,
until finally at the beginning of the year 1863 when
it was obvious that President Lincoln had deter
mined no longer to spare Slavery in the prosecution
of the war. this veteran journalist retired from the
Press, avowedly because he could no longer synpa-
thze with the objects for which the war was there
after to be prosecuted. In The albany Erening Jour
nal of JAN H. 1863 few days before retiring from
its conduct, be denounced the anti-Slavery wing of
the Republican party, because, as he said it was
attempting to marrow the mighty struggle for
national existence down to an Abolition crusade"
few days after this indignant utterance, he publicly
withdrew from The albany EreniRg Journal, and
assigned the following reasons for his decision:
Our country is IN immediate and imminent danger. |
differ widely with my party about the best means OF
crushing the rebellion The difference is radical and
irecOncilabe neither impress others with my
views nor surrender my own solemn CONVICTIONS The
alternative Of living In strife with those WnOm nave
esteemed Withdrawing Is presented nave not hesl-
ated in pursuing the path of peace as the path of duty
III those who differ with me are right, and the country Is
carried safely through s present struggle all VIII be
well and nobody hur."
Such were the views of Mr.. Weed az this time, and
it is DOT difficult to perceive why it was that, with
such opinions, he favored SO warmly the nomination
% Can ntva fha
ernor of New-YorlS in the Autumn of 1862, when
Gen Wadsworth was nominated in his stead by the
more earnest wing of the party. Gen. Dix was then
known as a "War Democrat" that is a Buchanan
Democrat who was sustaining the war on the theory
that Slavery was to be damaged as little possible
"A character which substantially identified him
with pro-Slavery Republicans of the ThurlOw Weed
school And from this time onward, for the space of
several months, Gen. Dix continued to be pro-
Slavery Republican-supporting the war, but Oppos-
ing the policy of Emancipation. As late as October,
1863 we find him still protesting against Mr.. Lin
coins Emancipation Proclamation In that month
he addressed letter to the War Democracy of
Wisconsin. in which he wrote as follows. Il cite
the extract from The National MllgeRcer of Oct 90
1863:
The measure which has produced perhaps more dis
satisfaction than any other the Presidents Emaneipa
ton Proclamation certainly should not have advised
ibeleVed
that II would only reach negroes VINO came Wltmh our
control and they by the laws OF war; II we choose
so TO regard them free without it, 1t is purely war
measure and If the war should cease tomorrow, it
would to be practically operative except SO ar as
il has been executed This Is, however question OF In
depreciation for the Courts and does not become me to
anticipate their declsiOn
Such were the views of this pro-Slavery Repub-
lican." OF War Democrat" down to the renomina-
ton of Mr.. Lincoln, when, with Mr. Weed, he deter
mined to support Mr.. Lincoln as against Gen. Nc
Clean-that is, his " War Democracy" passed into
" Lnconsm" for surely there never was better
type of War Democrat" than Gen. Mcclellan.
Still "I.nconsm" was feeble in Gen. Dix, for after
Lincoln was dead and Johnson had succeeded to the
Presidency. we find Gen. Dix, with Mr.. Weed, in the
arm-in-arm Convention" of 1866, at Philadelphia,
and the Lincolnism" of both lapsed into John
sonismD till in the case of Dix Johnsonism" was
rewarded by fat Federal office in New-York, and
ultimately by the French mission. Since his retire
ment from that post he has been waiting for some
thing else to turn up" even having had expectations
at one time as he tells u.s. of seeing something good
come ont of the Cincinnati Convention. Disap-
pointed i'm this he has determined to go for Grant,
at least until after the next election, and the Utica
Convention being sOrey pressed to find candidate,
FASTENED to accept him pro hoe rice. Mr.. Weed has
been slow in procuring the honor of nomination.
for his pro-Slavery friend of 1852 and 1863 but he
has succeeded at last
And now / am curious to know what class of peo-
pie are particularly expected to support Gen. Dix on
the record" he has made for himself Certainly
no kind of Democrats" can support him. fur there
has been no kind of Democracy which Gen. Dix has
not professed and betrayed. Certainly no kind of
Republicans can support him. for there has been
no kind of Republcanism which he has not endured,
embraced, and deserted.
He is a very respectable man, as the Duke of
Buckingham in his day was a very respectable man