Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1872-08-22
II sWMmEH letter.,

mT. greeley mas Deen repfesen
ted by the opponents of his cleo
ton as a weak and vacillating
person, without force of charac.
ter or persistence in any fixed
line Of policy. How long since
he adopted the principle of clasp,
ing hands across the bloody
chasm, the language Of the let
ter in which he, five years ago:
replied to the New York club that
threatened him with expulsion
when he signed Jefferson Davis
bai1-bond, and which to-day we
reproduce below, abundantly
proves; and with what consisten-
cy and manliness he has for six
years following maintained the
lofty ground then assumed, his
present position as the champion
ofideas and principles then enun-
ciated, is evidence enough. The
following is the letter referred to:
GENTLEMEN: l shall not attend
your meeting this evening. l
have an engagement out of town,
and shall keep it. I do not re-
cognize you as capable of judg-
ing, or even fully experimenting
me. You evidently regard me as
a weak sentimentalist, misled by
a maudlin philosophy. Iarraign
youas narrow-minded blockheads
who would like TO be useful to a
great and good cause, but don't
know how. Your attempts to
base a great, enduring party on
the hate and wrath necessarily
engendered by bloody civil war
is as though you should plant a
colony on an iceberg which had
somehow drifted into a tropical
ocean. 1 tell you here that out
of a life earnestly devoted to the
good of human kind your chill
dren will select my going to
Richmond and signing that bail
bond as theswieest act, and will
feel that it did more for freedom
and humanity than all of you
Were competent to do though you
to the age of Methusaleh.
[ ask nothing of you, then, bu
that you proceed to your end by
direct, frank, manly way. Don't
side off into a mild resolution of
censure, but move the expulsion
ldeserve, if I deserve any
'eproach whatever. All | care
is that you make this a square
fight, and record your
Judgment by yeas and nays. 1
care not how few vote with me,
Tor how many vote against me;
| know that the latter will re-
,ent in the dust and ashes before
hree years have passed.
Understand once, for all, that
dare you and defy you, and tt at
{ propose to fight it out on the
inc that have held from the
lay Of Lees surrender. So long
10 any man was seeking to over
brow u Government, he was
enemy; from the hour in
Vh1ch he laid down his arms. he
vas my formerly erring country.
nan. So long as any is opposed
o the national unity; the Federal
uthority, or to that assertion Of
ne equal rights of all men, which
as become practically identified
18th loyalty and nationality, l
hall do my best to deprive him 4
power; but when he ceases to !
e thus, 1 demand his restoration :
} all the privileges of American
tizenship1 give you fair no.
that [ shall urge the reinfran-
1isement of those now %proscrib-
l TOR rebellion so soon as [ shall
eel confden: that this course is
'nsistent with the freedom of
lie blacks and the unity Of the
epublic, and that l shall demand 2
recall of all now in exile ouly :
r participating in the rebellion, 4
henever the country shall have
so thoroughly pacified that
safety will not thereby be en-
fingered. And, so gentlemen,
that you will hencefortn
me somewhat bet
than you have done. remain, Z
urs, HORACE GREELEY. II
May %, 1867.