New-York tribune., 1872-07-19
- COTTON pDRKU

Mr.. Greeleys boots with occasional excursions
among the old files of TIE TRIBUNE to find
out what Mr.. Greeley used to say about the
Democratic party of Slavery and dlsumon.
He recently culled some extracts from the
back numbers of this paper as pleasant ana
profitable reading for the Baltimore COnven-
ton. We have no particular objection to this,
except that we hate to see such waste OF
Mr. Curtis's valuable time. 1t is pretty well
known what Mr.. Greeley thinks of Slavery
and dsunion, and as he has never been in the
habit of conceaing his opinions, less saga
cious person than the editor of Harper'S Weekly
might have guessed what he would find in our
files and spared himself the trouble OF long
search. But it is not so distinctly understood
what Mr.. Curtis's opinions were-say during
the critical months of 1861, which so severely
tested the patriotism and sagacity of Northern
journalists and, since he has set the example
of comparing records we purpose looking at
some of the back-numbers of his paper, where
some very curious things are to be found.
Just before the attack upon Fort Sumter,
Mr.. Curtis published q character sketch OF
the Northern merchant whom he called Cotton
"Pork ESQ.," sordid patriot who cOndescends
to relieve his country by taking U. s. Treasury
notes at 12 per cent per annum, and believes
there is nothing better than dollars. " Cotton
Pork is a Northern man. Mostly from New
England, though often transplanted to New
"York, and doing well in our climate. Some
varieties of his genus have been tried at the
South, but they do MT thrive there. AT the
South an odd region dollars are well
thought of, to be sure, but still they do MT
90 Il o,,1f of on
plantations by the financial foot-rule; nor is
"public policy exclusively adjusted to the dollar
"slandard. It seems ridiculous but people
|" talk and think much more about honor at
" the South than about dollars. They
{" seem to think that there are worse things
than fighting in this wOrld-and better than
"dollars.n 1t was a caustic little sketch but
strange to say, Cotton Pork, esq, about this
time seemed to have the management of HdrpeTs
Weekly. We turn to the earlier numbers of that
year, and we find in them not a word of CEN
sure for the secessionists, not word of en-
couragement for the loyal spirit of the North,
nothing but conspicuous anxiety to conclll-
ate Southern subscribers and keep the South
ern trade. Even the word secession was care
fully expunged from the editorial columns
The Rebellion was styled "The Great South
"ern Movement and "The Pending Revolu-
ton" (Jan. 10, 1861, and the Illustrations for
long time were chiefly portraits of Southern
politicians, accompanied by laudatory biOgraph-
ical sketches. If the paper had been written
by Rhett and published in South Carolina it
could not have been calculated more nicely to
meet the Southern taste. On the 26th of Janu-
ary, in an article entitled "Wanted-A Capt.
"taln the editor apparently assumed that the
destruction of the Union was fixed fact and
discussed the location of a new seat of gov
ernment. The same day he contrasted picto-
rally the negro at the North, shivering,
drunken wretch, described as a Fish Out
"of Water with "Uncle Glenn at the
South, grinning, cOntented slave, who
listens to his young master reading from
newspaper about the unfortunate ne
groes," and says, "Well it's great pity
about me; Use berry badly off, is" Mr..
Curtis, you see, at that time did not believe
in freedom! The secession of the Slave
States went on; Mr.. Buchanan's Cabinet
officers deserted to the enemy, arsenals were
seized, preparations for war were heard all
along the Southern coast still Horper'S
Veekly had not one word of patriotic rebuke,
and Cotton Pork, esq, still clung to his South
ern customers He spoke faint remonstrance
at last, on the 10th of February-it was an
entreaty that his Southern friends" would
not pass stay laws to prevent the payment of
their debts to Northern houses Qike the house
of Harper g. Brothers), and he protested that
he made this remonstrance with "no partisan
purpose In view"
Mr. Lincoln made his memorable journey to
Washington, and it was just after his passing
through New-York that Harper's Weekly COM
mitted the atrocious assault upon him which
so deeply stirred the Indignation of the pa
triotic North. A vulgar cartoon represented
him staggering, with wine glass in hand, in the
midst of drunken companions, while a hearse
containing the coffin of the "UniOn" and the
" Constitution moved before the window.
Underneath was this legend: "Our Presidential
" Merryman. The Presidential party was
"' engaged in lively exchange of wit and
90 humor. The President Elect was the
"' merriest among the merry, and kept those
"'arOund him in a continual roar Daily
d" Paper" On the same page was picture of
Henry Ward Beecher and John Brown turning
Washington away from the Communion rail,
and excaiming, "Stand aside, you old sinner!
awe are holier than thou!" while Abraham
Lincoln, in an attitude of mock humility.
kneels in the front pew. March 2, 1861. The
next week Cotton Pork, esq, surveyed the
situation from a commercial point of view,
and decided that when the seeding States
came to count the cost of the Great Southern
Movement, to organize 4" a new postal system
"at dead loss of some two millions year."
new systems of taxation, revenue, copyright,
&C., and new army and navy, they would