The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-20
CHE 99ailg Arsns,
Independent dn Eoerything.
a Little Story with a Large Moral.

n LULU StoIy with Large Moral.
In the last days of the Administration of
Franklin Pierce, there was an Attorney
General in Washington named Caleb
Gushing, in whom the slave holding party
had full confidence. 1t was not sure that
his successor would be so ready to obey or
ders from that quarter, and it was there
fore desirable to get from MIR. Gushing
a cook strong opinion authorizing Southern
postmastess to exercise an espionage over
the mails and to throw out all political
matter which did not suit the dominant
party of that section; such matter being
invariable called 'incendiary and tending
to incite fnsurrcetion," Dir. Gushing ius-,
tilted the confidence reposed in him and
wrote an elaborate opinion, of which the
gist is this: 1T seems clear to me that
deputy postmaster or other officer of the
United States is not required by law to
become knowingly the enforced agent or
instrument OF enemies of the public peace
I" to disseminate in their behalf, within the
limits of any one Of the States of the
"Union, printed matter, the design and
tendency Of which are to promote insur-
'rection in such State" This of course
left the Postmaster free to Judge what was
the design and the intention Of every. Jour
nal in the country, and to steal or destroy
at his own sweet will any papers he liked,
or disliked,
They went on in that course for a year
or So One of them was not satisfied with
silently carrying out Mr.. Cushing's sugges-
tons. The Postmaster of Lynchburg, Va,
in 1859, wrote letter to Mr.. Greeley the
Editor of the New York Tribune, inform
ing him that he would not thereafter de-
liver that paper to it's subscribers in Lynch
burg, holding it dangerous to the safety of
, society and subversive of the laws Of the
land, and directing Mr.. Greeley to discon
tinue sending it. To that letter Mr.. Gree
ley replied as follows:
NEW YORK, Deccmber9 1859
| Mr.. Postmaster Of LgnchbHrg, Va.
SIR:-I beg leave to assure You that | shall dc
nothing of the sort. The subscribers to the Tribune
in Lynchburg have paid for their papers; we have
taken their money, and shall fairly and fully earl
it. according to contract. If they direct us to sent
their papers to some other post office we shall obey
the request: otherwise We shall send them origi
nally ordered Ii you and your masters choose Il
steal and destroy them, thar is your affar-at al
events, others and if there is law in Virgin
in to punish the larceny, much the worse for he
! and our plundered subscribers. If the Federal AID
ministration whereof you the tool after monop
oizing the business of mail carrying. sees fit to be
come the aCcomplice and patron of mail-robbery,
suppose the outrage must be borne until more hon
est ana less serV1le rulers can DC put into the nlg
places at Washington, till the people can recove
their natural right to carry each hers letters
J printed matter, asking no odds of the Government
Go ahead in your own base way. | shall stan
steadfast for human liberty and the protection of al
n natural rights. Yours stifiiy
l. HORACE GREELEY.
A good many thousand Republican
thought, in 1872, if the man who wrot
that letter, and who never, in his long AM
Y active life, uttered a word or conceived
/ thought inconsistent with it, should b
t elected President, the Union would be be
o trayed and the principles of freedom ia
ri tally endangered They therefore vote
r r for Gen. Grant, and he has shown ther
lie how sagacious they were by nominating a
r the supreme expounder of the law OF tn
Is land the superserviceable Attorney rel
ID eral who gave the Lynchburg post mastt
n and his kind license to rife the mails in tn
interest Of Slavery. Allofwhich, if it prove
nothing else, proves that human judgmer
: is fallible, even when it receives the san,
ton of caucus of Office holders. N
Tribune.