Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-12-17
THE RUSK LETTER.
LA CROSSE. April II, Is

THE RUsK LETTER.
LA CaossE. April IL, 1871.
DEAR GENERAL Your favor OF
the IL b havs been received. If |
am 10 be a candida Q for governor, |
wait it TO be with the approval OF
my late colleagues and the leading
men of tn state. | should esteem
highly a nomination that did not
have to be fought for, but any other
| should not have. As to the soma
torship, you can say that | shal
never contest for that po>ition
against either FL I'VE or Carpenter.
| have had my contes: with both of
these gentleman, and [ DON'T care TO
renew it. If | am to be a candidate
for governor. had rather the press
10 the eastern part of the state shoul1
initiate the movement, if they are
80 disposed. [ hope to see you here
before long, when | can more fully
talk these matters over with you.
Truly yours,
G. G. WAsHBURN.
EXPLANATION BY GOVERNOR WASH
BURN.
MAIDS IN, Nov. 80, 1874.
DEAR SIR: Your favor was re-
ceived here during my absence from
hone, or else it would have received
earlier notice. You say that IL is
industriously reported by friend OF
Senator Carpenter that you entered
mo y bargain with him i'll 1871 that,
# be would support you for Cover
nor. you, in turn, would support him
for United States Senator. That
letlor is in existence in which you
said you were proud of our senator's
IN congress, and hoped to see them
long remain senator's, and that you
should never be a candidate against
either" You furJher say that
"While l can readily understand
that, at the tins named. you felt as
you are said to have expressed your
self. yet the subsequent actions OF
one of the senator's absolved you
from any understanding you may
have had to support him Your
request that l state to you the facts
| cheertully comply with, and you
arr at liberty to make such use of my
letter as you like. From the day |
first entered into putlc te until the
present hour | have never entered
INTO a bargain with, or made any
promise to, any man whereby L was
TO secure his support, aud | never
shall. | never wrote letter to any
man promising my support in con-
liberation tf support given TO me-.
[ never wrote letter saying that l
was pr oud of our senators, aud shonl
endeavor to keep them 10 the senate.
Some three months or mora ago, l
heard that it wa being said that in
1871 | bad written Gen. J. NJ. Rlrk
u letter in which Vas stated what
you name to me. | had no recoIec-
tion of having written any such l5t-
ter. and was sure that | had not. l
met Gen. r. soon after the state fair,
and asked him it he ever received
any letter from me promising my
support to Senators IL I'VE ADD Car
penter, or that | would not be u Can
didate against him? His answer
was, that be had received a letter
from me in 1871, 10 answer to 40
urgent request from him tina; woul !
allow my name to be used before the
state convention for nomination
for governor, but that he was conf
dent it contained no promise of lh at
Kind.
The reports of the existence of
this letter have come to me thick
and fast lately, and the contents
were growing stronger as the proba-
bilities of it's loss increased. Indeed,
| have heard of one man who cIai N
ed to have seen it, and tc have recol-
lecteI distinctly it's contents, who
was prepared TO swear, at the proper
time, that had very exalted opin-
ION of Senator c., that be had hap
ply disappointed all my expecta-
lions, and that be should have my
cordial support from that time hence
forward. AS these reports have in-
creased, so is my anxiety to have the
letter found and produced and, as
soon as | heard THAI it Was claimed
that any l,tter bad ever been written
by me of the character named, | in
sisted that it should be found, and l
am happy to say 1t has been found,
and | was yesterday furnished with
a copy of it. Why it should pc an
object of so much interest to man
who aims, or his friends for him,
that the recent election was a trium-
plant personal vindication, / cannot
quite understand. 10 view of the
mi representations of the contents
of that letter, it is not improper for
me to say that when was in Mi.
waukee, about ten days ago, Senator
Carpenter cslied on me, to persuade
me that | ought not to allow my
name to be used 10 any way in COO
nection with the Senatorship. He
said that ! wrote letter in 1871 to
General Rusk, which be saw; that
be took no copy, but that IN bis
reco Lotions of lis contents Was
perfect; that said in the letter that
| had been most happily disappoin-
ted in regard to him that he was
making much better senator than
l ever believed be would that | was
entirely satisfied with him and tina;
] never would be candidate against
him. | remarked to the Senator that
l vas confident that his memory was
at fault, out that be mistook entirely
if be supposed l was in his way
that he was having no CONTEST with
me; and that, if | wac 10 the other
world, the result TO him would be
the same. Said /, This contest is
one between you and the peopls
settle it with them and to their sat-
isfaction, end, as one OF them, | am
satisfied.