Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1879-03-22
NV IOuK, March Is. 1870.

N-lNSE.. LulLNh0. - sometime laH IiNSth
siuceI last had the leisure Of communicating
with You have mean time regularly read
the FREE Pass, which is relief aud pleasure
compared with the perusal Of the Ois metro
poitan dailies filled too often with stories Of
crimes and the out pourn Is Of political rancdr.
You country editors have the knack Of COM
pressing. aud are therefore often fresh and
crisp when your more ambitious couiempUra-
ries Of the great cities are .pfeteu,ious and
windy / am sorry 20 inform you that politics
In tie Empire State. on which so much de-
Ponds 10 the next presidential race, are decd-
edly mixed aud uupromising. | think New
York deserves the name which Il was kncwn
by al an earlier Gay-the fictitious State. 10
the beginning Of the century the war ct the
factions WIS begun by Aaron Burr, Alexander
Hamilton and George Chuton, each Of whom
was the leader Of distinct party. When
Burrs bullet laid poor Hamilton low new
leaders came % the trout, but the heady hight
weut0n wuh increased bitterness Livingston,
Rufus kius, Dewitt C,iuton, George Clinton,
and others, were all leaders Of clans mutual
alone % their hostility to each other. When
the EZRA Of GOOD feeling began in 1916 ior
all the other parts Of the country, the discord-
ant elements 10 New York were not reconciled.
Tie war of The factions still ragged all along
the line from the Niagara frontier TO theCcean.
AZ the close az the second admiuistratiun Of
Mouroe. 10 1924. the clouds gathered aud .he
EZRA Of good feeling was passed aad gone
The impartial historian will ascTbe tie great
est blame 10 the OH Albany regency for the
sectional alienation which then began % show
itself. aud which grow apice until II finally
arrayed the North aud Sulth 10 the. Culmiuat-
ing disasters Of war. Silas Wright, clal7tm Il
/ reRcrajle R0men. was now rising into power
aud place, aud be became the first great New
/ Yorker whose patriotism looked beyond the
/ State aud took in the whole country. Hc
steadied tie Naclivcllian genius Of Martin
Van Buren,, and controlled that restless little
magician Us the ascendant Of strong practical
f sense aud downright leadership, FIR The power
+ % command was born % Silas Wright. rs
/ long as he lived his negative irtlueace over
| Ndn Buren, was never entirely lost lie could
not stay the intrigue Of 1891 by which "Little
Matte" as Van Buren, was called. divided the
+ New York Democrats .or Republicans as the
name then was into two factions, a Crawford
faction. and a jackson one, which evcntUeted
10 a failure Of ;he people 70 elect, and the
/ consequent throwing Of the election into tie
House Of Representatives whereby both Craw-
ford aud jackson were defeated aud John
I Quincy Adams was chosen President. Van
Buren, favored Crawl r. at this time, aud was
10 seepless enemy Of Andrew jackson. Bat
/ the magic Of the name Of Jackson was moge
/ potent than that of the little magician OF Kin
/ derhuok As soon as q az fact was apparent
I Van Buren, took up the cry for Jackson and
was nominated for Governor as a jackson
/ Democrat lie was elected. When jackson
became President Little Matte was invited
/ e. take charge Of the portfolio Of the State
+ Department Then was transferred 10 Wash
/ iugton That spirit of intrigue which bad so
/ long proved the bane Of New York politics,
aud which the Albany regency bad made the
curse Of the State by reducing the science Of
/ government 70 a scramble for Office, by the
bounding down Of political opponents and the
I lowering Of public morals 10 the petty and
I iuccssaut battle OF couteuding factors Mr.
| Van Bu,cn Gmeutel the great historical
collision between General jackson aud Mr.
/ Calhoun. ut that time President aud Vice
I President Of the United States, by aufuly
connecting tie miserable scandle Of Peggy
O'Neiis admission into ur exclusion from the
society of Washington with the name Of the
President. and thereby rousius Old Hickory
iuto a defense Of tLe woman One would sup
pose that I was describing the times Of Louis
Nv. with ITS pompaiours and dlSs0lute c0ur-
tiers rather than the administration Of an
American President famous for hls republican
simplicity. But u is the exact truth that
Jackson cabinet was broken up, The deadly
lud between jackson aud Calhoun produced,
and the Union was almost shaken % its de-
structiou over the coutemptible question Of
Ms Eitu nee Peggy O'Neil's failure 20 be
limited into the s0crvtyo OF the ialicS Of WASH
irei0u City By this scandal Che little ma
1i,au go tie State Department caused all this
fire. aud forged bis way through the warning
I f.cjuus 90 the White tlccse. Van Buren,
alou, ibis tine became An ardent talker Of
southern rights, or what Suutheruers like John
f Rudolph aud john e. Calhoun called with
keen roint "a Northern man with Southern
principles" and Nortberuers like John Quincy
Adams aud old Arthur Tappan uickuamed
With more Oluntuess "a doug hiace." BE that
u.s. C may the South built mp the fortunes Of
Martin Van Buren, aud made him President
Ills career was not yet over. lie put away
money, got rich. never drew dollar OF his
presueatal Saiary-uLtl bis term was over
a.d then went % the treasury with cart aud
took away d HUNDRED thousand dollars in gold
fr trans-shipmeut 20 Undertook, where he
aud 10 arrived 10 due time lie sat down pipe
10 mouth, 10 true Dutch fashion, aud smoked
c0utcutcdiy under his own vine add iis-tree.-
For De was rich aud great and bad trod all the
paths Of glory, thanks to Peggy Neil and
Andrew jackson aud the generous people of
tle South, ald Why not wax fat and IDLY and
smoke his great Huiokerbocker pipe in peace
aud conteutment2 Not he. Ia ls47 S.as
Wright bis great Mentor died aud 10 in
1918 Martin Vla Buren, has dashed the old
factions of the Stale into fury. The North
era man with Southern principles has become
the deadly enemy of the South, tie Nemesis,
predicted by Mr. Calhoun who would yet stab
lis 5cuclectors and inventors 90 tie heart
he was about 90 90 H. lie nad broken up tie
New lorS Democracy into two irreconcIable
factions the one au abolition lfee-soil wing.
aud The other which be could not control
Democratic wing, 10 harmony with the DEM
,c-a,s of Che whole country, whose hithiul
leaders never believed 10 Van Burcu and who
Knew that intrigue aud cunning aud naliguity
were bis dominant characteristics At the
meeting OF the National Democratic Couveu-
tiuu 40 Baltimore 90 lsiS the chosen standard
teareis of tie party were taSs aud Butler